Politics
Golden Dawn fallout forces Samaras into balancing act between country and party
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was probably expecting the latest troika review of Greece’s adjustment program to be his biggest worry at this time of year. Instead, the murder of an anti-fascist rapper by a Golden Dawn member means that his immediate concern is to confront the rise of the far right.
Kammenos calls for lynching of mayor but ends up boxing himself into a corner
Panos Kammenos and his anti-bailout Independent Greeks have been showing remarkable resilience in opinion polls despite their limited scope and internal problems that led to some key members leaving the party. Kammenos, though, is putting this durability to the test after being caught on camera advising residents of a village in Halkidiki to “lynch” their mayor.
Loverdos cosies up to DIMAR but future of Greek centre left remains in doubt
One of the key factors that will determine developments in Greek politics over the months and years to come is what is going to happen in the centre-left part of the spectrum. There have been backchannel discussion on the subject between PASOK, Democratic Left (DIMAR) and various new groups and movements but so far the issue remains unresolved.
More concern for coalition than cheer for SYRIZA in latest poll figures
Since the June 2012 national elections in Greece, New Democracy and SYRIZA have interchanged as the country’s most popular party. The latest Public Issue opinion poll, published on September 11, provides the latest twist in this intertwining tale. This time, it gives SYRIZA a 1 percentage point lead over the conservatives: 29 percent against 28.