OPINION

The final days

The strangest thing about the coming elections so far has been the silence. Sure, the parties have been on the campaign trail rallying their ardent fans and television debates have been abundant. But what we didn’t have was the debate and conversation among the citizens. This Sunday is being viewed as a day of deliverance, one that will bring an end to the parallel monologues that have marked this pre-election period. But we should not be fooled by the calm. The campaign platforms were simply moved to the television screen, yet dialogue remains a sketchy concept at best in this country’s political system, which continues to talk about revealing a nonexistent truth. The tone of an election race is always set by the main opposition party, which normally rallies in a loud voice, but PASOK’s pre-election «discreetness» has changed the customary campaign model. This at times has had a disrupting effect on ruling New Democracy, which can be seen in the amount of energy it put into the state candidates list and later into speculation about any succession at the helm of the party. In short, ND lost sight of the target – which should have been PASOK. Tomorrow’s New Democracy rally in central Athens, just one day before the elections, is a time to act wisely and with forethought. We will hear appeals to traditional family values and all matter of emotional promises of the kind that we have long become accustomed to. Yet the outcome of the election will only be decided when Greeks cast their ballots. While this election race may have been silent, the outcome may come with a real bang. Some believe that PASOK will win by a landslide, but this is not something that is apparent on the country’s streets. The difference between the two parties may be much smaller that the last polls predicted. This, however, will depend on how conservative voters choose to see New Democracy on Sunday.

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