Premature fatigue?
In the two-and-a-half months since the March general elections, the current political situation is certainly far more favorable than New Democracy could ever have hoped for, in terms of the strength and duration of its electoral victory. At the same time, this thwarts all PASOK’s plans for a swift recovery. For a better picture of the current situation, it is worth examining PASOK’s pre-electoral speculations about a short-lived term for ND. According to these scenarios, ND would have difficulty holding on to power in the event of an election victory as PASOK would launch its triumphant return at the June Euro-elections. Current opinion polls reveal ND to have increased its lead from five to seven percentage points, as it continues to attract voters away from PASOK. This impressive extension of an electoral victory is recorded more faithfully in a recent poll. In response to a question regarding the period of grace that should be given to the ND government, 80 percent of respondents gave a period of at least one year. But in politics, it is necessary to clarify the reasons for the development of a phenomenon in order to assess its significance. Evidently, ND’s extraordinary invigoration, over a period of just 75 days, is not due its achievements as a government nor to favorable first impressions but rather to the weaknesses and premature enfeeblement of PASOK.
