As parliamentary elections edge ever closer, Greece’s two major political parties PASOK and New Democracy are casting their nets as wide as possible in an effort to catch still undecided voters. The two parties have been the main fixtures in Greek politics since the restoration of democracy and over the past decade competition has grown increasingly fierce.
After a three-year period in opposition between 1990-1993, PASOK comfortably slid back into power in 1996, winning 41.5% of the vote and 162 (out of 300) parliamentary seats, as opposed to ND’s 38.2% and 108 seats. But 2000 marked the closest election in Greek history, with PASOK gaining re-election by a wafer-slim margin of only 1.1 percent . This year, with polls suggesting a cutthroat race in which ND has a slight lead, the stakes could not be higher.
Meanwhile, smaller parties continue their struggle to reach the 3% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation . Despite their fundamental differences, all minor players have taken up a common thread in attempting to win-over voters disillusioned with ND and PASOK’s tactics. To this end, all the small parties have sauced up their platforms by making accusations of ideological bankruptcy and corruption against the primary parties and by championing the interests of the underprivileged
The heavyweights battle it out
With George Papandreou heading PASOK and Kostas Karamanlis at the helm of New Democracy, the difference between Greece’s two major parties is not what it used to be. Aware that dogmatic ideological affiliations can be more of a burden than a blessing, both protagonists have opted to gravitate towards the centre while simultaneously trying to retain their traditional followings.
Nowhere has the ND-PASOK convergence been more apparent than in the issue of education. Both parties want to increase public spending on education to 5% of GDP and enact programs that reduce the need for expensive private tutorial schools (frontistiria). But the clincher is that the two leaders have both vowed support for non-state universities. Although such thinking has long been a part of the ND platform, it marks a radical departure from PASOK’s socialist norm.
Resemblances can also be found in ND and PASOK’s approaches to rectifying the unemployment issue through concrete measures and general guidelines. Karamanlis is targeting a reduction in the unemployment rate from 9 to 6% of the eligible working population while Papandreou has pledged to slash figures to 6% for men and 8% for women. Papandreou would like to open the door for more part-time civil service posts as well as form a temp-job bureau whereas Karamanlis maintains that the key to job creation lies in further market deregulation measures. If elected, both the candidates plan to offer special incentives to employers that hire young people and workers over the age of 55.
As the campaign period screeches to a halt, healthcare is also a hot topic. PASOK wants to improve Greece’s overcrowded and cash-strapped hospitals through an annual spending increase of 1.3 of GDP. “We have created the infrastructure. Now our aim is quality,” recently remarked Papandreou. In response to widespread allegations of bribery within the system, Health Minister Costas Stefanis has pledged “to gradually increase pay rises and to uphold ethics more consistently.” The opposition, on the other hand, continues to blame the ruling party for the poor state of the nation’s healthcare facilities. To rectify the National Health System’s (ESY) shortcomings, ND proposes a shifting of diagnosis and treatment to primary healthcare coupled with a bolstering of rural health centres and the creation of new urban clinics. Karamanlis also wants to scrap the current system allowing ESY doctors to see their private patients on hospital premises after hours. Both parties have come out in support of introducing “family doctors” for all household.
The vital question of social security reforms has spurred heated debate in the election run-up. No sooner had New Democracy referred to an adaptation of the social security program it carried out in 1990-1993 than PASOK attacked the opposition party for trying to increase the retirement age. Karmanalis boomed back that he was “outraged” at PASOK’s attempts to “distort” ND policy, claiming that his party had no intention of changing the age requirements. The key features of PASOK’s social security platform include raising social welfare spending to 30% of GNP by 2008 and supporting families with tax breaks and welfare measurements.
