After Sunday evening’s defeat for New Democracy, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has begun composing plans for radical changes in his ministerial cabinet and party. The austerity and pro-bailout policies are likely to blame for New Democracy’s losses, which saw its ratings drop by 6.40% since the June 2012 elections.
The changes in the ministerial cabinet are a given, since his coalition partner Evangelos Venizelos has come out stronger from Sunday’s elections and will pressure Mr. Samaras for a more progressive outlook. An extensive reshuffle of the cabinet is rather likely, with rumors suggest that Mr. Samaras will carry out the changes in the near future.
While Mr. Samaras admitted in his speech that the people sent the government a message, he also noted that the people rejected the change that SYRIZA promoted. With Greek society and the economy still in a fragile condition, the Prime Minister’s plans are to focus on stabilization in an effort to prove that his promises of exiting the crisis are true.
SYRIZA preparing for elections and coalitions
On the other hand, the Sunday results have shown that the opposition party can become the dominant political force in the country. The outcome of Sunday’s elections demonstrated that SYRIZA is starting to gain momentum in large cities and a number of districts.
In line with his party’s slogan for the European election (“on the 25th we vote, on the 26th they leave”), party leader Alexis Tsipras has called for general elections and is preparing for the possibility of forming an “extensive, patriotic and progressive alliance”.
The developments in PASOK may influence SYRIZA’s plans, with some arguing that a coalition with Mr. Venizelos’ party is likelihood. Such a move however is undoubtedly going to cause internal conflict within the opposition party’s ranks, such as the Left Platform.
