Major parties seeking fresh impetus
Local elections frequently take on the characteristics of a referendum and serve as a platform to convey a message that voters wish to express.
The October local elections will come just three and a half months after the second national election, so the imprint on the ballot box is fresh. However, the battle of impressions that will also come from these elections remains especially essential for party staff.
Attica is regarded as a barometer, with Nikos Hardalias supported by the ruling New Democracy, Giorgos Ioakimidis by SYRIZA, and Giannis Sgouros by PASOK.
Conservative ND, which won all areas except Crete in the previous election, is seeking a repetition of its strong showing. However, “rebel” candidates, particularly in the North Aegean and Western Macedonia, are posing a challenge. The Peloponnese is a case in point, as Petros Tatoulis’ candidature is producing greater or lesser turmoil in ND, PASOK and SYRIZA.
To this end, according to reports, Prime Minister – and ND leader – Kyriakos Mitsotakis has instructed the party apparatus to focus on the North Aegean and Western Macedonia.
In the case of main opposition SYRIZA, the procedures for nominating a new leadership have overshadowed the campaigning for local elections. The pursuit of combined candidatures with PASOK fell on deaf ears in numerous cases, and the stakes for the leftist party is for it to maintain the footholds it won in the 2019 municipal elections.
SYRIZA never achieved a similar level of dominance at the local government level, neither during its era of its rapid rise nor even when it took over the country’s government.
For its part, center-left PASOK is aiming to emulate the momentum the party showed in the national elections.
To emphasize this, PASOK stated unequivocally that they are not heading along an alliance line. The process of putting together the electoral combinations, however, was not without challenges, with the party also appearing to come up with emergency solutions.
