With the meeting of its parliamentary group and its upcoming conference, New Democracy is finalizing its internal preparations for the upcoming elections.
PASOK has already completed its own.
The smaller parties require little by way of preparation. Only the Left remains in disarray as it awaits the arrival of Tsipras’s new party before shifting into campaign mode.
And the elections? We can expect them in the early months of 2027, or perhaps very late this year, depending on how things pan out…
And when we talk about events, we don’t only mean the various issues before the courts, but also developments on the economic front. No one in their right mind would call an election in the middle of a “winter of discontent”. We’ll have to wait for the economy before making any firm predictions.
So, do we know anything? The short answer is no.
The latest opinion polls haven’t shown any changes in the relative strengths and weaknesses of the political parties. But no one can take anything for granted until the newly-announced parties are fully in the picture. Even minor changes can lead to significant divergences.
There are two things we can be more or less certain of, however.
First, that New Democracy retains the lead, but is feeling the strain after more than seven years at the helm. In politics, time is never anything less than crucial.
Secondly, that the opposition has been unable to turn itself into a strong and convincing alternative, so far. But “so far” doesn’t mean it won’t between now and the elections. We still have some time left, and that’s important.
What is certain is that the political debate has not yet addressed any of the major issues facing the country. Which is to say the issues that determine how the electorate lives.
And while the Prime Minister has put several proposed reforms before his party’s parliamentary group, they seem to have made little to no impression on the masses.
So clearly something else is needed—and probably something more substantial—if the elections are to take on any real meaning. If we can’t get past the cycle of political musical chairs, of “Out with the old, in with the new”, elections come to mean very little—especially if the voters’ sentiment is reduced to ‘Out you go!”.
Every conscientious citizen is entitled to expect something different and more meaningful from the parties and the politicians vying to run the country.
But I am not at all optimistic they’ll get it between now and the election.
If people and events fail to surprise us, an opportunity will have gone to waste. Which leaves us with the hope that, in Greece, there’s no such thing as a “last chance”.
That another one always comes along after that.
