Who can be happy with the election results?
At the party level, PASOK was the big winner in the recent local and regional elections. This was to be expected, perhaps. The way its played out, especially in Athens, where the socialist-backed mayoral candidate Haris Doukas secured a surprising victory, was not, however.
SYRIZA, standing alongside PASOK, is also celebrating the outcome. Yet, the main opposition party cannot claim a clear victory in these elections. It is, in a way, relieved. This is due to the fact that, after a considerable period, it witnessed cracks in the dominance of conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Meanwhile, supporters of SYRIZA believe they contributed to Doukas’ success in Athens. Their viewpoint has some merit, but the final tally for Doukas exceeds that of Kostas Zachariadis, the SYRIZA-backed candidate. Moreover, it quickly became evident that both Doukas and PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis made no reference to SYRIZA, except for a formal “thank you” to Zachariadis for his support.
PASOK doesn’t seem inclined to cooperate with SYRIZA, and it may be correct in this approach. If it intends to sustain its upward trajectory, it should do so without any impediments, particularly from a party that is spiralling in a political free-fall and searching for a lifeline – a party that, during its heyday, viewed PASOK as a political liability rather than a potential ally.
However, there is another concern that affects PASOK and SYRIZA, but it is even more relevant to the ruling party. With an overall voter abstention rate of 60-70% in these local government elections, the opposition should not be excessively jubilant. The rate is substantial, representing a reservoir of voters whose behavior remains uncertain when national elections come around, or even during the European Parliament elections, which serve as a more robust indicator of party dynamics.
Most analysts concur that a majority of those who abstained from voting were primarily supporters of New Democracy, for reasons that have already been discussed and analyzed elsewhere. This is why this critical mass should be a source of great concern for the ruling conservatives. The triumphant rhetoric and the unnecessary polarization emitted from government headquarters (conservative officials had claimed they were aiming for “13-0” victory in regional polls) were totally inappropriate. It displayed arrogance and indifference following a period of significant challenges in the country.
This raises the question of why conservative officials adopted this attitude and whether they are becoming increasingly disconnected from society. All of this also exposes an unattractive form of self-absorption on the part of New Democracy: people are really not interested in what party controls the local administration; they are preoccupied with their daily lives, including the cost of living and security. New Democracy should exercise caution in its future actions if it wish to re-engage those who abstained from voting.
