Greece: conservatives win general elections
The conservative New Democracy party won Greece’s parliamentary elections June 17, edging out the radical leftist SYRIZA party by a slim margin. However, since Antonis Samaras’s party failed to win a parliamentary majority, the leader of New Democracy will have to form a coalition government. Much hard work is yet to come.
Forced exile
34-year-old Elise, a French citizen, and her Greek husband Vassilis (not on the photo) have been forced into exile. Elise's employer owes her 15 000 euros in backpay, Vassilis hasn't seen a dime from his salary from January to April. "We would like to stay, but there is no hope of improvement in the next two years, we feel like we're being forced out of the country", says Elise, who has been living for the last 6 years in Athens and has worked in the tourist industry. Another worrisome problem faced by the Franco-Greek couple is the education of Orpheas, their 2-year-old son. Says Elise: "Public crèches fire staff, or strike, private ones are hugely expensive. There is even a lack of vaccines." In mid July, Elise will take Vassilis and Orpheas with her to France. Once settled, the couple want to open a restaurant or a grocery selling Greek products. Their way of keeping in touch with Greece, the country they quit against their will.
No more funds for renewable energy
Yannis heads his own business, specialising in renewable energies. Focusing on energy production from biomass - agricultural and human waste - his company works closely with Greek municipalities. However in the current deep economic crisis and recession, the municipalities badly lack funds. "So the end-clients don't have the money for their projects either", says Yannis. Yannis says he thinks Greece will stay in the eurozone following the legislative elections on Sunday June 17. Although he is yet to decide for sure which party he will vote for, he knows he will chose a party which stands "against the austerity measures".
Three decades of left-wing militancy
For more than 30 years, Nikos Christopoulos has been an active left-wing militant in Greek grass-roots politics and heads the "civil service" department of Synaspismos, the main party of Syriza. We met him in Panepistimio Square, just in front of the Kapodistrian Kaï University, where he is responsible for the electoral kiosk of the Coalition of Radical Left, Syriza. In next Sunday's poll, he wants Syriza to win a high stake, so that it can govern and follow through with the promises it has made.
"Civil unrest hasn't helped small businesses"
Leonidas - the name sends to the legendary Spartiate king - sells jewellery in a little shop close to Syntagma square. "Business is going worse that last year,” he says. “Civil unrest has been harmful." With no illusions whatsoever concerning politics, he thinks that "nothing will change, regardless of who wins the elections next Sunday."
"This crisis is not Greek, it's European"
Kostis is in his second year of Applied Mathematical Studies at the Politechnical Institute in Athens. A member of Syriza since last year, he sees the aim of the poll on June 17 as "changing Greek politics, the current handling of the crisis in Greece, but also in Europe, because this crisis is not Greek, it's European." Not all of his friends join parties. Some of them express their political involvement by simply taking to the streets. Greece's young generation has so far paid the highest price in the crisis, with 48 percent of those under 24-year-old unemployed.
Greece: growth versus austerity
Greece seeks coalition after tight vote
Back to the same for Greece?
Greek voters hit wall
Greece’s mixed feelings about outsiders
Greece jobless rate soars
Samaras, ‘Greek euro anchor’
Tsipras, from words to action
Greek radical Tsipras vows no more corruption
Greece – broke but not broken
Does Greece have a future in the euro?
Greece issues tourism warning
Auf Wiedersehen Athens?
Barroso sees future growth in Greece
IMF warns Greece, ECB cool on debt restructuring
