Pending defeat
Similar to real warfare, in politics too it is very difficult to control the extent and the consequences of an impending defeat. This is also true of PASOK socialists who seem determined to change the electoral law – specifically, by enhancing the proportional element – creating the prospect of left-leaning coalition governments in the elections subsequent to the parliamentary elections. The scenario is well known. The coming elections will take place under the present system and PASOK is operating under the assumption that New Democracy will win the vote. It hence rests its hopes on the 2005 presidential elections, in which Parliament would be dissolved after being unable to elect a president of the republic as ND would have less than 180 deputies. This scenario, however, has too many flaws. First, there is a major political issue involved, in that it would use the presidential election as a lever to overthrow a government with a fresh mandate…. The second and equally problematic aspect of the above scenario concerns the presumed electoral benefit from a broader center-left coalition. When PASOK speaks of such an alliance, it is primarily referring to the Left Coalition and the Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI). Given the prospect of a bipolar situation, the Communist Party (KKE) will likely benefit rather than suffer a loss. So, the outcome depends on the Left Coalition and DHKKI leaderships and, most of all, on the reaction of their traditional supporters…
