|
|
|
|
|
|
Jens 'n' Frens |
|
|
|
|
|
Less than a month before new general elections that could determine Greece’s future in the euro zone, the conservative New Democracy Party secured cooperation with a small liberal grouping on Monday in an effort to beat to first place an ascendant leftist political force that has rejected the country’s debt deal with foreigners. Antonis Samaras, the leader of the conservative party, which signed the 130 billion-euro (or $170-billion) debt deal with the socialists in February, said New Democracy would run in the June 17 election on a joint platform with a liberal grouping, the Democratic Alliance, led by Dora Bakoyannis, a former foreign minister and old conservative rival. Their chief goal, Mr. Samaras told a joint news conference, was to secure Greece’s position in the euro zone and “fight the forces of populism.”The full story is at the New York Times. I had been uncertain whether, given a vote, I'd cast it for the Democratic Alliance (which I would prefer, but was likely to again miss the threshold to win any seats) or New Democracy (which will definitely reach the 3% threshold and which is likely to be very close to the 50-seat bonus allotted to the party with the plurality of votes). Apparently, I'm just backing New Democracy now. |
||
