Greece’s Socialist leader George Papandreou trounced the governing conservatives in a landslide election victory after a campaign focused on dramatically different visions of how to dig the country out of its worst economic crisis in years.
Papandreou, a 57-year-old former foreign minister whose father and grandfather were both prime ministers, had insisted that Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’ plans for austerity to face the international financial crisis were wrong. Instead, he offered a more optimistic solution, saying he would inject up to 3 billion euros (US$4.4 billion) to reinvigorate Greece’s economy.
After a campaign fought almost exclusively on economic issues — and after widespread anger over repeated scandals had already whittled away support for Karamanlis’ conservative government — voters were persuaded.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Results from 98.92 percent of votes counted yesterday showed Papandreou’s Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) storming to victory with 43.94 percent, with Karamanlis’ New Democracy trailing with 33.49 percent — the party’s worst electoral showing ever.
The result gives PASOK a solid majority, 160 seats in the 300-member parliament, bringing it back to power after five years of conservative governance.
Papandreou’s victory, along with a recent election win by socialists in Portugal, bucks a European trend that has seen a conservative surge in the continent’s powerhouse economies, including most recently in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel won re-election last week.
US President Barack Obama was among the first international leaders to congratulate Papandreou, telephoning him on Sunday night, the White House said.
Humbled by his stinging defeat, Karamanlis, 53, resigned as party leader and said a new chief was needed for the party founded by his late uncle Constantine Karamanlis 35 years ago.
Papandreou now must deal with a faltering economy that is expected to contract this year after years of strong growth, while the budget deficit will probably exceed 6 percent of economic output.
Despite his plans for a stimulus package, the new Socialist government will likely have to borrow heavily just to service the ballooning debt — set to exceed 100 percent of GDP this year — and keep paying public sector wages and pensions.
Papandreou has pledged to limit borrowing by reducing government waste and going after tax dodgers.
“Greeks and the electorate do not have any illusions that a magic change will take place tomorrow morning on the economy,” political analyst Anthony Livanios said. “They know it’s a difficult economic crisis ahead, and they will look for a credible handling and a credible solution” from the new government.
In his first speech after being elected, Papandreou warned Greeks they faced tough times.
“Nothing is going to be easy. It will take a lot of hard work. I will always be upfront with the Greek people so we can solve the country’s problems together,” he said. “Today, we are setting Greece on a new course ... a course of recovery, progress and creativity … I know the potential of the country very well, a potential being drowned by corruption, favoritism, lawlessness and waste.”
Greece’s budget deficit is well over the EU ceiling of 3 percent of economic output, and the economy minister recently conceded it could reach 8 percent this year.
The public debt is set to surpass 100 percent of GDP while unemployment rose to 8.6 percent in June.
Livanios said Papandreou’s idea of stimulating the economy as a way out of the crisis could work.
“It remains to be seen now how effectively PASOK’s plan will be applied. But I do believe there’s a credible plan that focuses on reinvigorating the small entrepreneur, on putting a better order in the taxation system,” he said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was