Alexis Tsipras wound up his campaign to be re-elected Greek prime minister by declaring his victory would strike a blow for Europe’s left, as final polls on Friday gave him a slim lead.
The return of his SYRIZA party to power after today’s vote would deliver “a key message for Europe,” Tsipras told thousands of supporters in Athens during his final electoral rally.
“Do we want a Europe of austerity or one of solidarity and democracy? The result [of the vote] will be a key message for Europe,” he said.
Flanked by the leader of Spain’s anti-establishment Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, and other EU politicians, the charismatic 41-year-old slammed the conservative leaders of Germany and Spain.
“The struggle to change Europe continues,” he said, hailing those who are sheltering refugees fleeing war and persecution.
However, as thousands of mostly young supporters turned out on a hot Athens night for the rally, Tsipras’ flamboyant former minister of finance Yanis Varoufakis said he would be voting for Euroskeptic rivals who have broken away from SYRIZA.
Tsipras, in a white shirt and with his sleeves rolled up, said that today “we will sweep away the old,” an apparent reference to his main rivals for government office, the established conservative New Democracy party led by Vangelis Meimarakis.
The vote would show “if the old system that governed for 40 years is going to return, or if we are going to take a step forward,” he said.
“The people will say no to this old system of corruption, no to the enshrining of the oligarch establishment,” he added.
Tsipras won office in January with 36.3 percent of the vote on an anti-austerity ticket, but then upset supporters in July with a U-turn cash-for-reforms deal with Greece’s international creditors, despite winning a huge “no” vote in a referendum on the issue.
Even after the broken promises, many voters believe he has their interests at heart — a break with past leaders they perceive as corrupt and linked to powerful interests.
“SYRIZA will not only win Sunday, it will have a mandate to form a strong and stable government ... to go ahead with the reforms the country needs,” Tsipras said.
Today’s third vote in Greece in a year was called after Tsipras resigned last month following a rebellion inside SYRIZA that saw an anti-EU faction quit to form a new party, stripping the party of a fifth of its members of parliament.
Hours before a midnight ban on voter surveys, four polls forecast victory for Tsipras over Meimarakis by margins ranging from 0.7 to 3 percentage points.
However, Greek pollsters called for caution after being burned in earlier votes, with the gap falling within some of their margins of error.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt unable at this point to make a forecast,” political columnist Paschos Mandravelis told reporters.
Polls show the two main parties garnering between 25 and 30 percent of the vote, with the remaining parties picking up single-digit scores, meaning neither is expected to be able to form a majority government.
At his last campaign rally on Thursday, Meimarakis urged Tsipras to form a coalition government, an offer already rebuffed.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS