GREECE: Greeks cast ballots in Parliamentary election that will determine the fate of crucial economic reforms

Disillusioned Greeks are voting in an election seen as crucial for economic reforms. Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and opposition socialist leader George Papandreou cast their ballots early in the northern city of Thessaloniki, while victims of fires in the Peloponnese made their way to makeshift polling stations. Greeks voted on Sunday (September 16) in an election expected to determine the fate of key economic reforms and turn fringe politicians into powerbrokers as voters angry with this summer's forest fires punish big parties. The election pits conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis against socialist leader George Papandreou, both heirs to prominent political dynasties, but opinion polls showed neither easily winning a majority in parliament. Karamanlis called the early vote confident he could secure an easy victory, but a slow response to the forest fires which killed 65 people in August and a series of scandals may have harmed his chances. Opinion polls suggest voters defecting to smaller parties, such as the far-right LA.O.S party, expected to win seats in parliament for the first time. "We respect and trust citizens and take part in this democratic procedure with a smile and confidence," Karamanlis told reporters after voting in Thessaloniki. "A new day is dawning for Greece, a day of optimism," a smiling Papandreou said after after casting his ballot, also in Thessaloniki. Villagers in the province of Ilia in the Peloponnese, the region hardest hit by recent devastating fires, cast their votes for a government they hope will be sympathetic to their plight. Fires claimed 65 lives last August. In Makisto, where seven people died in the fires, villagers voted in pre-fabricated houses. Some voters expressed fears that politicians who have promised to rebuild their homes and pledged financial help will abandon them after the election. In Artemida, a total of 14 people died in blazes, and many residents are still without a proper roof over their heads. With olive groves burnt down and livestock destroyed, they are bracing themselves for a tough winter. "I hope that whoever wins the elections will cast their eyes to this region, so the people here see better days because things are difficult here," Artemida's local priest said. Surveys published before a Sept. 1 blackout showed Karamanlis' conservative New Democracy party leading the socialist PASOK by one to two percentage points. More than 10 percent were undecided. If the vote is inconclusive and attempts to form a coalition fail, Greece faces new elections. That could delay reforms, including shoring up an ailing pensions system which could go bust in 15 years. About 20 percent of Greeks live below the poverty line and per capita GDP is the lowest next to Portugal's in the euro zone. Karamanlis, nephew of the late statesman Constantine Karamanlis, scored a landslide victory in 2004 against Papandreou, son of the late Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.

ITN Source | September 17, 2007

Tags:. .smiling. .smile. .andreas. .surveys. .proper