The eventful, short and condensed election campaign period is entering its final stretch, just the way it began, with the economy caught in the middle of a political conflict, amidst fears and worries over the next day. Since the start of the election campaign period the voters are being bombarded with bad news, information and rumors regarding the economy, the dangers and threats that follow, the bank deposits, the liquidity problems which the banks face and the funding difficulties of the state.

Abuse of threats

The plethora of conflicting statements from Europe – “we want you in the Eurozone, but you have to fulfill your obligations” – have intensified the election campaign and brought back the Grexit on the front pages of the international media and the daily talk. During the first week it was like we traveled back in time to 2012, what with the discussion of the potential departure of Greece from the Eurozone.

The first wave of warnings however was not taken seriously. In the first two election campaign weeks the voters probably ignored all of those voices, especially the hysteric ones which repeat the same thing over and over again, not recognizing the change of circumstances, nor the fiscal and structural progress that has been achieved with the people’s sacrifices.

The many warnings of 2012 and abusing the threat of exiting the euro greatly placated the people’s concerns and allows the SYRIZA president Alexis Tsipras to invoke the democratic right of free and unrestricted choice and demand from Europe the restriction of their public interventions, if not the cessation.

It is true that since then the Europeans became more careful in public statements and everyone stressed how they want Greece in the Eurozone and ensured that there were no secret plans for a Greek departure.

The specter of the Grexit

Until last Thursday most of the people were mostly indifferent to the constant reports of the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and New Democracy officers to the Grexit.

When the liquidity problems however began to emerge the applications by two systemic banks to use the emergency funding mechanism of the European Central Bank were confirmed by Yannis Stournaras, then the atmosphere changed. The fears that have hounded Greek society for the past five years have returned.

The truth is that the bank applications were used by the government for propaganda purpose, with some arguing that it was bloated and overexposed for obvious reasons.

In any case though, by taking into consideration the aforementioned, the multiple and varying opinions expressed by SYRIZA officers, along with the reports of imposing new taxes, have caused relative concern, particularly amongst urban cycles, which have began changing their stance on the dangers and prospects of the elections.

Without a doubt, the middle class has been convinced that the threats are real and that at any moment a funding crisis in the Greek economy may break out. Many have rushed to protect themselves fearing future dangers.

On Friday the atmosphere regarding future financial developments was pervasive, the outflow of deposits was on the rise and it was commonly held that the banks would be under a lot of pressure in the final week leading up to the elections.

New Democracy’s underground propaganda machine will probably take advantage of this, hoping to repatriate some of the “misguided” voters.

There was no doubt after all that New Democracy would exhaust the “politics of fear”, its only weapon left in this election campaign. It started off with it and will end its short race to the ballots with it. Likewise nobody doubts that there will be a strong counterarguments against it.

Extreme conflict

Many have already began criticizing the Minister of Finances and the governor of the Bank of Greece for the extent of relaying the relative information. They stress that the importance of filling an application to the ELA has been over-exaggerated, since in 2012 the Greek banks requested coverage for 100 billion euros, while now it is almost null.

They further note that it is the first time that there are daily updates on the outflow of deposits per bank and claim the those in charge are “not ensuring the neutrality of institutions” but are rather “intervening systemically in the election campaign”.

Worst of all, according to those closely following the electoral battle, is that the development of such conflicts are capable of quickly destabilizing and dividing the country.

The aforementioned, without a doubt, reflect an explosive electoral campaign week, the tension of which can undermine the midterm prospects of Greece, by limiting the options that the new government may have, whether it is Mr. Tsipras or Mr. Samaras in charge.

The polling companies on the other hand estimate that there will not be any change in the general mood and intention of voters, despite SYRIZA’s proliferation being curbed.

They argue that fear and insecurity are not enough to change things. They insist that the other elements, such as the feelings of anger and destruction remain dominant and that the so-called “conflict of interests” is emerging.

Class vote

It is said that the impoverished classes, the unemployed and the lowly-paid pensioners gave nothing to fear from the outflow of deposits or the liquidity crisis which the banks may face. Also, the underpaid employees do not care about other people’s money, they care about improving their working conditions that will offer them the greatest possible protection and a decent living.

Anyone investigating the people’s intentions will realize that the voters in Attica have vastly different intentions, with those living in impoverished areas such as Menidi, Peristeri, Nikea and Piraeus thinking differently to voters in the richer and more affluence areas in the northern and southern suburbs of Athens.

According to the polling companies these elections will -to a great extent- be determined by class, namely income, assets, place of residence and opportunities for progress. Additionally, all indications suggest that the difference will be determined in the great prefecture of Attica, where the Left seems to be amassing similar power to what the communist mayors had in the 1980s.

Antonis Karakousis

Originally published in the Sunday print edition