Socialists favored to win Greece’s election

ATHENS, Greece — Greeks cast ballots Sunday in a snap general election likely to produce a change in government, as voters angered by scandals and a foundering economy were expected to reject the conservatives in favor of the opposition Socialists.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and were to close at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) in the election conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis called just halfway through his second four-year term.

Karamanlis, 53, and opposition leader George Papandreou, 57, differ radically in their approach to Greece’s economic woes, with Karamanlis advocating austerity and Papandreou saying a stimulus package is needed to jump-start the economy.

Papandreou’s Panhellenic Socialist Movement, known by its Greek acronym PASOK, headed into the polls leading Karamanlis’ New Democracy party by 6 to 7 percentage points in the last opinion polls published two weeks earlier, before a pre-election ban came into effect.

But it was unclear whether Papandreou would be able to win an overall majority that would allow him to form a government.

If no party wins enough votes to gain 151 seats in the 300-member parliament and none can form a coalition with a smaller party, new elections will have to be called, likely in November.

Both Papandreou and Karamanlis are scions of political families. Papandreou’s father, Andreas, and grandfather, George, were both prime ministers at various times between the 1940s and the 1990s, while Karamanlis’ uncle and namesake was premier five times between 1955 and 1980 as well as president twice.

The short election campaign ended Friday with Karamanlis’ final rally in central Athens before of tens of thousands of supporters. The prime minister once again accused his opponent of being an irresponsible politician who makes “outlandish promises, has no plan and … risks an economic adventure.”

Instead, he proposed a “sensible plan” so “we can get out of the economic crisis stronger in 2011,” offering himself as a leader who would not hesitate to enact painful measures.

Papandreou has hammered Karamanlis’ economic record, accusing him of squandering an opportunity for growth after the 2004 Athens Olympics, cutting back on public investment and letting public debt grow unchecked. He has proposed a stimulus package to jump-start the economy instead of Karamanlis’ freeze of spending and wages.

Greece felt the impact of the recession later than most countries, but it also is likely to come out of it later. The economy is expected to contract in 2009 and, possibly, 2010. The 2009 budget deficit is set to exceed by far the 6 percent of GDP forecast by the government.

Total debt will climb back over 100 percent of GDP, and the postelection government will likely have to borrow heavily just to service the ballooning debt and keep paying public sector wages and pensions. Any fiscal stimulus package will mean additional borrowing, the socialists acknowledge, although Papandreou has pledged to limit that by reducing government waste and going after tax dodgers.

Karamanlis called the snap election early in September after the socialists’ refused to cooperate in the re-election of Greek President Karolos Papoulias, whose five-year term expires in March. This would have forced new elections anyway and dragged the country into a prolonged pre-election campaign, Karamanlis said.

But Karamanlis has seriously been damaged by scandal, with several close associates forced to resign after being implicated in a series of financial affairs, the chief of them involving a land-swap deal with a Greek Orthodox monastery that cost the state millions of euros.

The worsening economy also eroded the popularity of the government, which only had a one-seat majority in parliament.

Many conservative voters also were angered by rising crime and last year’s December riots, sparked by the death of a 15-year-old boy shot by a police officer in Athens.

The sight of anarchists rampaging through the capital and other cities, smashing shops and banks with no police intervention, shook many conservatives’ faith in Karamanlis.

Security concerns were highlighted Friday when a small bomb exploded a blocks away from where Karamanlis gave his final campaign speech. The bomb, hidden under a garbage bin, exploded minutes before the premier took the stage, despite heavy police presence. There were no injuries.

A far-left group, Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire, claimed responsibility for the bombing, and another that targeted the central Athens apartment of deputy Louka Katseli, the socialists’ spokeswoman on the economy, on Sept. 23. Police have since arrested four suspected members of the group and are looking for at least seven others.