Greece’s radical left party, Syriza, is still leading in the race to win the country’s elections on 17 June, according to a public opinion poll for Greek ‘Sky” TV. Syriza is outpacing conservative New Democracy by a four-point margin, with the smaller parties, especially those below the 3% threshold being squeezed. However, New Democracy has also strengthened its support, and another recent poll put it in the lead which would enable it to pick up the 50 bonus seats for the first placed party. It would be assisted by the new party ‘Recreate Greece’ which backs the EU’s so-called bailout. The full results were as follows:
| Votes 2012 | Seats | Poll results | Projected Seats | |
| Syriza (Radical Left) | 16.8 | 52 | 30 | 127 |
| New Democracy (Conservative) | 18.9 | 108 | 26 | 66 |
| Pasok (Soc Dem) | 13.2 | 41 | 15.5 | 40 |
| Ind Greeks (Nationalist – ND split) | 10.6 | 33 | 8 | 20 |
| Democratic Left (Syriza split + Pasok defectors) | 6.1 | 19 | 6.5 | 17 |
| KKE (Communist) | 8.5 | 26 | 5 | 13 |
| Golden Dawn (Fascist) | 7 | 21 | 4 | 10 |
| Recreate Greece (pro-EU ‘bailout’) | 3 | 8 |
I guess I’m obliged to support PASOK, but I’d like an overwhelming win for left-wing forces and for my comrades to be forced to join in a genuinely left wing government that’ll save Greece from austerity and nationalise the commanding heights of the economy.
What obliges you to support PASOK Chris?
Labour membership. Don’t we have to support our sister parties, at least officially? Of course, I’d prefer it if they were left wing.
There is nothing in the party rules that requires a member to support Socialist International sister parties in other countries. The country where many prominent Labour politicians have at some stage actively supported a party other than our Socialist International (SI) sister party is the United States where it seems to be regarded as perfectly legitimate to support US Democrats rather than candidates of the significantly smaller Democratic Socialists of America which is affiliated to the SI. So, personally, I’m happy to give support to the Front de Gauche in France, Die Linke in Germany and Syriza.
Jon, I agree with the point you’re making but the US example isn’t a particularly good one, as the DSA operates principally as a left faction within the Democratic Party and doesn’t stand its own candidates (I believe former NYC mayor, David Dinkins, was a DSA member, for example).
However, longstanding international affiliations are not necessarily a good guide as to which party one should identify with: I’m sure that just about everyone else in the Socialist International was throughly embarrassed to be associated with Bettino Craxi’s institutionally-corrupt Italian Socialist Party, long before it ceased to be the official Italian section of the SI.