Elections

Though Greece is the birthplace of democracy, it has not always been able to uphold the dreams that Aristotle, Socrates and Plato envisioned. It has undergone countless changes in leadership and government type, returning to a democracy—more specifically a parliamentary republic—in 1974 after holding successful fair and free elections. Greece presently has both a chief of state and a prime minister. National elections determine not who the president will be, but rather who will become the next Prime Minister. Presently, Greece’s Parliament does not have a majority in favor of any party, which makes it incredibly difficult to pass new laws and legislation. Therefore, in hopes to achieve a more effective balance in Parliament sooner rather than later, snap elections have been called and were held today.

Currently, Kostas Karamanlis, leader of the New Democracy (Nea Demokratia) party, holds the position of Prime Minister. Despite him being the one who pushed for this year’s early elections, he will be in close contention with George Papandreou, head of the PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) Party (it is still too early to call who won the election, I’ll let you know the results). Karamanlis’s popularity has declined through-out his term. This is due to an array of factors including the downward spiral of the Greek economy and the lack of control over the recent forest fires in Athens. Additionally a recent real-estate scandal involving the sale of land from the Church to the State has diminished the public’s faith in church-state relations.

As in the majority of democracies, the voting age here is 18. Unlike in America, voting here is compulsory. People must vote in their hometowns which attributes to the reason why elections call for political holidays, and the reason I had a four day weekend! Also unlike America, citizens do not vote for their president. The president is elected through a secret ballot system in parliament. Karolos Papoulias has been reigning over Greece as President since 2005. As the presidency is only a five year term, the next Presidential changeover will occur in March of 2010. The President has limited power. His main responsibilities lie in foreign affairs, while the Prime Minister controls domestic dealings. This will be one of the few times in contemporary Greek history where the presidential and prime ministerial elections are held so close together. This could potentially lead to an entire upheaval of current political positions, so it will be interesting to see how the public will handle this delicate but crucial time in Greek history.

Fun Facts and Upcoming Events:
•Greece has had a Papandreou or a Karamanlis as prime minister for 30 of the 45 years of democratic governance since 1955, excluding the 1967-74 military dictatorship.
•This election is coming two years earlier than scheduled.