May 2012 Greek Legislative Election
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Legislative elections were held in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
on Sunday, 6 May 2012 to elect all 300 members to the
Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...
. It was regular scheduled to be held in late 2013, four years after the previous election; however, an early
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
was stipulated in the coalition agreement of November 2011 which formed the Papademos Cabinet. The coalition comprised both of Greece's traditional major political parties,
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
on the left and
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
(ND) on the right, as well as the right-wing
Popular Orthodox Rally The Popular Orthodox Rally or People's Orthodox Alarm ( Greek: Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός, ''Laikós Orthódoxos Synagermós''), often abbreviated to LAOS (ΛΑ.Ο.Σ.) as a pun on the Greek word for ''people'', is a G ...
(LAOS). The aim of the coalition was to relieve the
Greek government-debt crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis ( Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that ...
by ratifying and implementing decisions taken with other
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
countries and the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
(IMF) a month earlier. The elections delivered massive losses for the parties of the outgoing government, resulting in a realignment of Greek politics. PASOK, who won the 2009 election in a relative landslide, won just 13% of the overall vote, a decline of almost three-quarters. ND emerged in first place with just 19% of votes, approximately half of its previous result. LAOS lost all of its seats.
Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
, previously a minor party on the left-wing, ran on an anti-austerity platform and outpolled PASOK with 17% of the vote. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) improved its performance to 8.5%. Three new parties entered Parliament in the election – the right-wing populist
Independent Greeks The Independent Greeks - National Patriotic Alliance ( el, Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες (ΑΝΕΛ), ''Anexartitoi Ellines'', ANEL) is a national-conservative political party in Greece. The party was the junior coalition partner to the ...
(ANEL) won 11%, the far-right Golden Dawn (XA) 7%, and the Democratic Left (DIMAR) 6%. New Democracy won a substantial plurality of 108 seats thanks to Greece's
majority bonus The majority bonus system (MBS) is a form of semi-proportional representation used in some European countries. Its feature is a majority bonus which gives extra seats or representation in an elected body to the party or to the joined parties with ...
, but ND and PASOK were the only pro-bailout parties present and now lacked a majority between them. Conversely, the anti-bailout parties were deeply divided between left and right. ND leader
Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samara ...
, Syriza's Alexis Tsipras, and PASOK's
Evangelos Venizelos Evangelos Venizelos (, ; born 1 January 1957) is a Greek academic and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Greece and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 25 June 2013 to 27 January 2015. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Ministe ...
all tried and failed to put together governments in the days following the election. On 16 May, President
Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...
appointed
Panagiotis Pikrammenos Panagiotis Pikrammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης Πικραμμένος, ; born 1945) is a Greek judge and politician who since 9 July 2019 serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece. He briefly served as the caretaker Prime Minister of Gre ...
as caretaker Prime Minister and scheduled a new general election for 17 June.


Background

The
European sovereign debt crisis The European debt crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis or the European sovereign debt crisis, is a multi-year debt crisis that took place in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until the mid to late 2010s. Several eurozone membe ...
and the
Greek financial crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis (Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that l ...
, in particular, have led to an escalated political crisis. There was an announcement by Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...
that a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
would take place to determine whether Greece would accept the next bailout deal with the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, the IMF and the
European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
(ECB). However such a referendum never took place. The parties of the opposition and politicians from within the ruling
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
subsequently demanded early elections. At the same time, protests and strikes in Greece have been commonplace, with some turning violent. Social unrest in the country is the result of a series of austerity packages passed by the Greek parliament since 2010. On 4 November 2011, there was a
vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in Parliament, narrowly won by the government of
George Papandreou George Andreas Papandreou ( el, Γεώργιος Ανδρέας Παπανδρέου, , shortened to ''Giorgos'' () to distinguish him from his grandfather; born 16 June 1952) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from ...
by a vote of 153 to 145 in the 300-seat body. Although a number of
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
MPs said they would not support the government in the vote of confidence, all 152 eventually did support the government after PASOK's leader Papandreou agreed to step down as Prime Minister in order for a
government of national unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
to take over. Following the vote of confidence one previously expelled PASOK member was re-admitted to the party, raising the Papandreou majority to 153 seats. Despite the narrow victory, Papandreou eventually resigned a few days later, making way for a three-party "grand coalition"
caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
under
Lucas Papademos Lucas Demetrios Papademos ( el, Λουκάς Παπαδήμος; born 11 October 1947) is a Greek economist and academic who served as 12th Prime Minister of Greece from November 2011 to May 2012, leading a national unity government in the wake o ...
, a former ECB vice president, with the support of PASOK, ND and LAOS. However, LAOS later resigned over further austerity measures.


Procedure

Voting is mandatory; however none of the legally existing penalties or sanctions have ever been enforced. 250 seats will be distributed on the basis of proportional representation, with a threshold of 3% required for entry into parliament. The other 50 seats will be awarded to the party or coalition that wins a plurality of votes, according to the election law. Parliamentary majority is achieved by a party or coalition of parties that command at least one half plus one (151 out of 300) of total seats. Blank and invalid votes, as well as votes cast for parties that fall short of the 3% threshold, are disregarded for seat allocation purposes.


Date

In a speech to parliament on 4 November,
Evangelos Venizelos Evangelos Venizelos (, ; born 1 January 1957) is a Greek academic and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Greece and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 25 June 2013 to 27 January 2015. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Ministe ...
said that the caretaker government would last until February. In late December 2011, it was decided that the election would be pushed back to late April, in order to allow the technocrat government to pass austerity measures.


Incumbent parliament

Five parties were elected at the 2009 election, but during the course of the parliament changes in party memberships (mostly due to the February 2012 expulsions from the main two parties of representatives who would not vote for the loan agreement), resulted in representation for a further two official parties (parties with more than 10 MPs) and two parliamentary caucuses (i.e. smaller parties). An additional 18 members sat as independents. Leaders of official parties enjoy certain privileges that permit them equal footing to one another and to the prime minister, both in parliamentary procedure and in pre-election debating; such privileges are not extended to caucuses and independents.


Participating parties

A total of 31 parties participated in the election: #
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
,
Evangelos Venizelos Evangelos Venizelos (, ; born 1 January 1957) is a Greek academic and politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Greece and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 25 June 2013 to 27 January 2015. Previously, he was Deputy Prime Minister and Ministe ...
#
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
(ND),
Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samara ...
# Communist Party of Greece (KKE),
Aleka Papariga Alexandra "Aleka" Papariga (née Drosou; el, Αλέκα Παπαρήγα; born 5 November 1945) is a communist Greek politician who served the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) as its General Secretary from 1991 to 2013. She is the first woman t ...
#
Coalition of the Radical Left The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
 – Unitary Social Movement (SYRIZA), Alexis Tsipras #
Popular Orthodox Rally The Popular Orthodox Rally or People's Orthodox Alarm ( Greek: Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός, ''Laikós Orthódoxos Synagermós''), often abbreviated to LAOS (ΛΑ.Ο.Σ.) as a pun on the Greek word for ''people'', is a G ...
(LAOS),
Georgios Karatzaferis Georgios Karatzaferis ( el, Γεώργιος Καρατζαφέρης; born August 11, 1947) is a Greek politician, a former member of the Hellenic Parliament and the president of the Popular Orthodox Rally. Previously, Karatzaferis was a membe ...
# Democratic Alliance (DISY),
Dora Bakoyannis Theodora "Dora" Bakoyanni ( el, Θεοδώρα "Ντόρα" Μπακογιάννη; ; ''née'' Mitsotakis; el, Μητσοτάκη, links=no; born May 6, 1954) is a Greek politician. From 2006 to 2009 she was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece ...
#
Social Agreement Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...
(KOISY),
Louka Katseli Louka Katseli (Greek: Λούκα Κατσέλη, ; born 20 April 1952) is a Greek economist and politician. Today, she is Professor Emeritus of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Chair of the National Bank of Greece in Cyprus, C ...
#
Independent Greeks The Independent Greeks - National Patriotic Alliance ( el, Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες (ΑΝΕΛ), ''Anexartitoi Ellines'', ANEL) is a national-conservative political party in Greece. The party was the junior coalition partner to the ...
(ANEL),
Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Καμμένος, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Par ...
# Democratic Left (DIMAR),
Fotis Kouvelis Fotis-Fanourios Kouvelis ( el, Φώτης-Φανούριος Κουβέλης; born 3 September 1948) is a Greek lawyer and leftist politician. Biography Kouvelis was born in Volos. He studied law and political science at the University of Athe ...
#
Action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
 – Liberal Alliance (DRASI-FS), Stefanos Manos and Grigoris Vallianatos #
Ecologists Greens The Ecologist Greens ( el, Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι (ΟΠ), ', OP) are a Greek green political party. They are a member of the European Green Party. History The Ecological Forum, the body that lead to the establishment of the party ...
(OP), six-member committee #
Union of Centrists The Union of Centrists ( el, Ένωση Κεντρώων, Énosi Kentróon, ) is a centrist, liberal political party in Greece. The leader and founder of the party is the veteran anti-corruption activist Vassilis Leventis. It strongly supports G ...
(EK),
Vassilis Leventis Vasileios "Vasilis" Leventis ( el, Βασίλειος "Βασίλης" Λεβέντης, ; born 2 November 1951) is a Greek politician, leader of the Greek centrist party, Union of Centrists () since 1992 and former Member of Parliament, in offi ...
#
Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
(LIBERTAS), Manolis Kaligiannis # Golden Dawn (XA),
Nikolaos Michaloliakos Nikolaos G. Michaloliakos ( el, Νικόλαος Γ. Μιχαλολιάκος, ; born 11 December 1957) is a Greek politician and convicted criminal. He is the founder and leader of the far-right party Golden Dawn. In October 2020, he and 67 oth ...
# No: The coalition of
Democratic Revival The Democratic Revival (''Greek: Δημοκρατική Αναγέννηση Dimokratiki Anagenissi'') is a political party in Greece, initially founded in 2004 by Stelios Papathemelis. It was deactivated after its leader participated in the le ...
and United Popular Front (EPAM), Stelios Papathemelis and 3-member committee # I Don't Pay Movement, Vasilis Papadopoulos #
Communist Party of Greece (Marxist-Leninist) The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a List of political parties in Greece, political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour P ...
/ Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Greece (KKE(M–L) / ML KKE), four-member committee #
Front of the Greek Anticapitalist Left The Front of the Greek Anticapitalist Left ( el, Αντικαπιταλιστική Αριστερή Συνεργασία για την Ανατροπή, ΑΝΤ.ΑΡ.ΣΥ.Α., translit=Antikapitalistiki Aristeri Synergasia gia tin Anatropi, ANT.A ...
(ANTARSYA), 21-member committee #
Organisation of Communist Internationalists of Greece The Organization of Internationalist Communists of Greece (Greek: Οργάνωση Κομμουνιστών Διεθνιστών Ελλάδας, ''Organosi Kommouniston Diethniston Elladas'') is a Greek Trotskyist political party. It is also know ...
(OKDE), 3-member committee # Workers Revolutionary Party (EEK),
Savas Matsas Savas Mihail Matsas (or Savas Michael Matsas or Savas Michael-Matsas; el, Σάββας Μιχαήλ Μάτσας; born as Sabetai Benaki Matsas (Σαμπετάι Μπενάκη Μάτσας) 1947, Athens) is a Greek Jewish intellectual, leader of t ...
# Organisation for the Reconstruction of the Communist Party of Greece (OAKKE), 3-member committee #
National Unity Association The National Unity Association ( el, Σύνδεσμος Εθνικής Ενότητας, translit=Sýndesmos Ethnikís Enótitas) is a Greek political party, founded by retired officers of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The president of the party is ...
(SEE), Nikos Alikakos # Society – Political Party of the Successors of Kapodistrias, Michail Iliadis # Pirate Party of Greece (KPE), Ioannis Panagopoulos #
Recreate Greece Recreate Greece ( el, Δημιουργία, Ξανά, translit=Dimiourgia, Xana, , ) is a Greek right-wing political party, which has adopted an ideology heavily focused on anti-immigration, anti-Islam and anti-communism. History Founded in Decem ...
(DX), #
Panathinaikos Movement The Panathinaikos Movement ( el, Παναθηναικό Κίνημα) is a Greek political party, founded in 2012. The Panathinaikos Movement is the first political and social political party in the history of the country, founded by people wit ...
(PANKI), Yiorgos Betsikas #
Dignity Dignity is the right of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake, and to be treated ethically. It is of significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable ...
, alliance of independent candidates, Panayiotis Theodoropoulos #
Greek Ecologists The Greek Ecologists ( el, Έλληνες Οικολόγοι, translit=Ellines Ιkoloyi) (previously Union of Ecologists, el, Ένωση Οικολόγων, translit=Enosi Ιkoloyon) is a Greek "fringe" and "bizarre ecological party". The party' ...
, Dimosthenis Vergis (sole candidate) #
National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...
(KEAN), (sole candidate) # Renewing Independent Left, Renewing Right, Renewing Pasok, Renewing New Democracy, No to War, Party of Action, I Give Away Land, I Pardon Debts, I Save Lives, Panagrarian Labour Movement of Greece (PAEKE), Miltiadis Tzalazidis (sole
perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
)
# Regional Urban Development (PAA), Nikos Kolitsis (sole candidate) Four other parties were banned by the
Supreme Court of Greece The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (, ''Areopagus'', i.e. the "Hill of Ares") is the supreme court of Greece for civil and criminal law. In Greece, the decisions of the supreme court are final. However, since Greece is a member state ...
: National Hope, PAME in GESEEP, the Friends of Man and Citizens Assembly–(Direct) Democracy in Practice. National Hope was prohibited under the electoral law from participating as it is a monarchist party. The court also banned the one-man party Tyrannicides from contesting the election under that name, on the grounds that the title "demonstrated criminal intent." The party's Athanasios Daskalopoulos was however allowed to run in the election as independent candidate, on equal terms with the 51 other approved independent candidates. On 18 March, PASOK held a
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
in which Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was the sole candidate. In order to provide voters with a quick unbiased tool, to check into what degree the voters personal answer in a political survey compared with the answers by the political parties, a joint academic non-profit group of researchers from
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
and four other International universities, developed this free to use internet application Choose4Greece.


Campaign

Among the 12 biggest political parties in the opinion polls, the parties that would continue the austerity programme were PASOK, New Democracy, DISY (Democratic Alliance) and DRASI (Liberal Alliance). There was also criticism of the German-led austerity programmes. Golden Dawn's campaign also called for the placement of
land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s on the border with Turkey, the revocation of eurozone loan agreements,
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of banks that received state loans and the nationalisation of natural resources. It was also said to have gained support by organising patrols in high-crime neighbourhoods (a similar tactic to
Jobbik The Movement for a Better Hungary ( hu, Jobbik Magyarországért Mozgalom), commonly known as Jobbik (), is a conservative political party in Hungary. Originating with radical and nationalist roots, at its beginnings, the party described itself ...
, who gained entry into the Hungarian parliament for the first time). In turn PASOK and New Democracy also ratcheted up rhetoric against illegal immigration, while New Democracy feared further loss of votes to opponents of the austerity measures. LAOS, in turn, called for immigrants to be sent to
uninhabited islands A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotype ...
. KKE leader
Aleka Papariga Alexandra "Aleka" Papariga (née Drosou; el, Αλέκα Παπαρήγα; born 5 November 1945) is a communist Greek politician who served the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) as its General Secretary from 1991 to 2013. She is the first woman t ...
said that Greece should leave both the eurozone and the EU. ND's
Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samara ...
doubted the ability to create a "grand coalition" with PASOK. The Ecogreens' Yiannis Paraskevopoulos said the prime issue for them was the economy and the direction of the country. Independent Greeks'
Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Καμμένος, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Par ...
said that Germany was too dominant and criticised the austerity measures he said were dictated to Greece. SYRIZA's Alexis Tsipras said that he was open to working with Independent Greeks or anyone who supported a left-wing government. LAOS's
Georgios Karatzaferis Georgios Karatzaferis ( el, Γεώργιος Καρατζαφέρης; born August 11, 1947) is a Greek politician, a former member of the Hellenic Parliament and the president of the Popular Orthodox Rally. Previously, Karatzaferis was a membe ...
, who left the interim government midway through its "mandate," criticised ND and PASOK for their "betrayal," saying that "they depend their political survival on foreign power centres by accepting English law for reece'sbonds. This land is governed by ," while he justified his initial decision to join the interim government by saying: "I am not the first choice of the Americans and the troika. It's only natural for me to be put under pressure." He also criticised a new initiative against illegal immigration as lax, in what was read as a move to gain back credibility from Golden Dawn.


Controversy

At a campaign rally in the Athenian suburb of
Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...
on 21 April, PASOK's Evangelos Venizelos said that "parliament cannot become a reception space for the followers of Nazism and fascism." In response, some Golden Dawn supporters were reported to have thrown bottles and other objects at him.


Other events

Ahead of the election, the financial markets started to price in the risk that the election could result in a new government led by parties seeking to reverse the austerity measures. Due to the risk factor, the yield for the new 10-year Greek government bond rose from 18.1% on 15 March to 22.3% on 10 April, at a time when opinion polls predicted the election would result in a new anti-austerity government. On 27 April, the yields slightly recovered to 20.6%, when opinion polls started to show that the election could result in an austerity friendly government. Less than a week before the election
Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...
increased the Greek sovereign debt rating by a notch above default. The Bank of Greece made an unusual political statement on 24 April when it claimed that the economic recovery depends upon a "strict adherence to the economic reforms and fiscal adjustment commitments Greece has agreed with its eurozone partners." It claimed that choosing a different path would only lead to a worsening of the recession. The central bank called on citizens and the political system to undertake "the historic responsibility of choice" and asked for "the greatest possible consensus" in society and in the political sphere when deciding if Greece should stay in the
eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
by applying the agreement with Greece’s creditors or to drop out. It warned that Greece’s eurozone membership was at stake if Greece failed to follow through on its pledges after the election.


Opinion polling

Surveys carried out since 2009 showed a sharp decline in support for the two major parties, PASOK and New Democracy, with PASOK, the sole ruling party until 2011, seeing the largest losses in support. Polling numbers for LAOS, having risen until late 2011, declined in the run up to the next election, while support for previously minor left-wing parties as well as the new, right-wing
ANEL The Independent Greeks - National Patriotic Alliance ( el, Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες (ΑΝΕΛ), ''Anexartitoi Ellines'', ANEL) is a national-conservative political party in Greece. The party was the junior coalition partner to the ...
party seemed to surge. The poll by ''VPRC'' in January 2012 featured PASOK in fifth place, the first time in over thirty years that the party was not amongst the top two; however by April 2012 it had returned to second place in the polls. Golden Dawn, an extreme right party, was set to enter parliament for the first time, capturing traditional LAOS voters after their support fell when they joined the interim governing coalition. According to Greek law, opinion polls may not be published in the last two weeks preceding an election.


Results


Reactions

ND's Antonis Samaras said "I understand the rage of the people, but our party will not leave Greece ungoverned." Golden Dawn's Nikolaos Michaloliakos told his party supporters that "Europe of the nations returns, Greece is only the beginning" amid applaud and chants of "Greece belongs to Greeks." He also told the media: "The resistance of Golden Dawn against the bailout dictators will continue. Inside and outside the Greek parliament. We will continue the battle for Greece. Free from the international speculators. For a proud and independent Greece. For Greece without the bailout slavery and the loss of our national sovereignty." The absence of a parliamentary majority was highlighted as a reason of concern. Financial analysts expressed their opinion that the poor result of the parties that had supported the austerity measures and neo-liberal economic policies would be detrimental for financial markets. The financial markets reacted negatively, with some opinions being expressed that Greece could withdraw from the
eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
before the end of 2013. The
Athex The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE or ATHEX; el, Χρηματιστήριο Αθηνών (Χ.Α.), ''Chrimatistírio Athinón'') is the stock exchange of Greece, based in the capital city of Athens. It was founded in 1876. There are currently five ...
fell by a record 10% during the first hours of the trading day after the election. At the close of the first trading day after the election, Athex had slightly recovered to a decline of 6.7%, while the yield for 10-year government bond rose from 20.6% to 23.0%. Following the failure of ND to form a government, European financial markets fell, as well as U.S.
futures market A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or ...
s. U.S. stock indices also fell as a result. As a result of the failure to form a government five days later, following both ND and SYRIZA's attempts, U.S. financial markets continued to slide. After two failed attempts to form governments, Trevor Williams, the chief economist at
Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
said that the markets were beginning to factor in a Greek withdrawal from the eurozone. This observation was at the same time also confirmed by a
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
poll, as it showed 57% of investors now expected Greece would leave the euro in 2012. Four days after the election, the Athex general index had declined 10.8%, while yields for the 10-year government bond had increased from 20.6% to 24.7%. Over the course of the next eight days following successive failed attempts at government formation, stock markets in Europe and elsewhere fell, while sovereign bond yields in Italy and Spain also rose amid fears of a renewed crisis within the eurozone. * - The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliam ...
said that "the negotiations to form a government in Athens should have as a target the honouring of the country's obligations towards the European Union." Though he also said that the events in both Greece and other eurozone states indicate a need for a policy package in order to enhance growth and job creations. :A
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
spokesman said that it had "hopes and expects that the future government of Greece will respect the engagements that Greece has entered into." * - German Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
said that Greece alone should determine a possible coalition government and that Germany would work with any democratically elected government, while insisting on the continuation of the bailout measures. Foreign Minister
Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...
added that Greece should continue to honour its obligations by cutting public deficits and that "we expect the formation of prudence government in Greece, with a clear European orientation." He added that Berlin will discuss this possibility with Athens. After the failure of the first attempt to form a government he said that "we call on the authorities in Greece to quickly move toward stability so that a government of reason can be formed. he developments are viewedwith great concern. It’s important for us that the steps that have been agreed upon with the government be implemented. They are not up for negotiation. **
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
Alliance '90/The Greens leader
Jürgen Trittin Jürgen Trittin (born 25 July 1954) is a German Green politician. He was Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005 in Germany. Early life a ...
reacted to the result in saying that it was a "clear vote that Europe should not lose its social equilibrium" and "this was the end of Mercozi, a good day for Europe and a bad day for Merkel." * - Finance Minister
Anders Borg Anders Erik Borg (born 11 January 1968) is a Swedish politician who served as Minister for Finance in the Swedish government from 2006 to 2014. He is a member of the Swedish Moderate Party. Youth and education Borg was born in Skarpnäck, Sto ...
said that "it is of course of central importance to underline that they must uphold the direction of fiscal policy. They must continue to uphold the measures they have pledged in the programmes." Local media reactions included ''s headline "Country in Limbo" and ''
Ta Nea ''Ta Nea'' ( el, Τα Νέα, italic=yes; Translation: ''The News'') is a daily newspaper published in Athens. It was owned by Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), which also published the newspaper '' To Vima''. The assets of DOL were acquired in 2017 b ...
'''s "Nightmare of Ungovernability."


Results by region


Analysis

New Democracy won most districts of the Greek countryside, winning in its traditional strongholds of Macedonia and
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
. However, 19% of the vote for New Democracy is an all-time low for the party, down from its previous all-time low of 33% which occurred in the previous election in 2009. SYRIZA won the highest number of votes in most urban areas, including
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. This is the first time since the election of 1977 that a party besides New Democracy or PASOK finished as one of the top two parties. PASOK, who have spent 21 years in government on-and-off since 1981, suffered their worst defeat since 1974, reduced to just 13% of the vote. PASOK finished in first place in four prefectures:
Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
,
Lasithi Lasithi ( el, Λασίθι) is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Th ...
,
Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...
, and
Rhodope Rhodope may refer to: * Rhodope (mythology), a figure of Greek mythology * Rhodope Mountains, in Bulgaria and Greece * Rhodope (regional unit) Rhodope ( el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodópi'' ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the reg ...
. It has been suggested that Syriza's sudden success depended on PASOK joining the right-wing pro-austerity coalition and Syriza convincing voters that it was "the only 'true' leftist party" which unlike their rivals would actively renegotiate the austerity terms. Even though the Communist Party increased its share of the vote by almost 1% and increased its presence in the parliament by 5 seats, it finished outside of the top three for the first time since 1993. The Communist Party finished in first place in the
Samos Prefecture Samos Prefecture ( el, Νομός Σάμου) was a prefecture in Greece, consisting of the islands of Samos, Ikaria and the smaller islands of Fournoi Korseon. In 2011 the prefecture was abolished and the territory is now covered by the regional ...
. Right-wing Golden Dawn entered parliament for the first time, while fat-right
LAOS Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
lost all parliament seats after it joined the governing coalition.


Government formation

As the election resulted in no single party with a majority of parliament seats, the Greek law stipulates a procedure, where the largest party first will be given a chance to negotiate a government formation within three days. Failing that, the second largest party will be given the chance within the next three days, and if this attempt also fails the third ranked party will get a further three days to try and form a government. If none of the three largest parties can succeed to form a government, the baton will be handed over to the president for a last neutral attempt. If the process fails, then another election will be called. The day after the election, President
Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...
met with the leader of New Democracy Antonis Samaras to task him with the first attempt to form a government. On 8 May, Tsipras was tasked with forming a government within the stipulated three days by Papoulias at noon. At the same time the EU decided to continue with Greece's disbursements which meant sending US$5.4 billion on 10 May, but an additional US$1.29 billion was held back. As a result of the political imbroglio, both PASOK and ND suggested the EU and IMF agreement could have to be re-evaluated. If PASOK leader Venizelos failed Papoulias would make a final attempt to form a unity government. Venizelos met with Papoulias on 12 May to return his mandate. On 12 May, an opinion poll showed that 72% of respondents felt that the parties must make mutual concessions and work together, 22.9% of them called for a new election. At the same time, 78.1% requested that the new government should do everything necessary in order to keep Greece within the eurozone. The talks failed on 15 May, with an early
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
expected in June. A
caretaker cabinet A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...
under
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
president
Panagiotis Pikrammenos Panagiotis Pikrammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης Πικραμμένος, ; born 1945) is a Greek judge and politician who since 9 July 2019 serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece. He briefly served as the caretaker Prime Minister of Gre ...
was appointed on 16 May, and the election date announced to be scheduled for 17 June. The formal decrete to dissolve the newly elected parliament and call for new elections at 17 June, was jointly signed by the President of the Republic
Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias ( el, Κάρολος Παπούλιας ; 4 June 1929 – 26 December 2021) was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), he previously ...
and caretaker Prime Minister
Panagiotis Pikrammenos Panagiotis Pikrammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης Πικραμμένος, ; born 1945) is a Greek judge and politician who since 9 July 2019 serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Greece. He briefly served as the caretaker Prime Minister of Gre ...
at 19 May, to fully comply with the constitutional rule of calling for new elections within 30 days after having dissolved the parliament.


See also

* List of members of the Hellenic Parliament, May–June 2012


References


External links


igraphics.gr
election results visualized. Distribution maps of every party for further analysis.
Choose4Greece
an application that allows users to see which party is in accordance with certain views. (In Greek)
NSD: European Election Database - Greece
publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990–2012 {{Greek elections 1 2012 05 2012 in Greek politics Greek government-debt crisis
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
Legislative 2