Anyone worried we might not have anything to talk about this summer in the beach bars and on our sun loungers can probably rest easy.
We’ll always have the interminable discussion on the timing of the election to fall back on. And everything that comes with it.
Of course, you could say we’re lucky the only thing we don’t know is when they’ll be happening.
At the other end of Europe, the French might know the ‘when’ nine months ahead of the presidential elections, but thirty (!) candidates are currently jostling on the starting line (Le Monde, 16/7).
And more might still be joining them. Who knows? The French might even end up beating the number of candidates in the SYRIZA leadership race!
Fortunately for us, we’ll be choosing between the usual suspects when we eventually slip our vote into the ballot box. No one’s expecting any surprises there. The only thing we don’t yet know is when those ballot boxes will be wheeled out.
The Prime Minister, whose sole responsible it is to name the day, continues to talk about some time in 2027. But that hasn’t stopped everyone rushing to check out the intervening dates, as well.
In any case, from the Sunday on which the Thessaloniki International Fair opens its gates in early September, elections could be called on any given Sunday, as Al Pacino once said. Even if we accept that it matters which Sunday it ultimately is.
I gather that the Prime Minister is not feeling under any particular pressure, so he’s inclined not to rush. After all, there is every indication he’ll be heading into the elections with a lead.
The polls are not giving him any particular grounds for concern, while his staff do not appear overly worried about the emergence of a Samaras party, either.
According to their calculations, New Democracy has more to fear from international developments that take a toll on the national economy, and from a possible splintering or dilution of its voter base. At least on the first Sunday…
But will there be a second one?
This is obviously the contingency plan, based on the data: the leading party has improved its vote in the second round, at the expense of its rivals (2012, 2023).
Still, I am not at all certain that Mitsotakis would turn down a governing coalition that could provide political stability and security.
But there’s a catch: as things stand today, nobody wants to cooperate with anybody else. So it’s hard to see such a coalition on the horizon.
Naturally, any number of parties could change their rhetoric the day after the elections. That’s how these things usually play out. But the government should definitely have a plan up its sleeve for a second Sunday, just in case.
Which means the “any given Sunday” has to end some time in March 2027. But as we said: it begins in September 2026…
