PM confident about coalition's future as Greeks vote in first round of local elections
People walk in front of European Parliament election posters of the Greek leftist SYRIZA party in Athens on Friday. Up to 350 million Europeans are eligible to vote in elections to the European Parliament taking place on May 22-25 in all 28 EU member states.
The countrys governing coalition may grow in numbers after the May 25 European Parliament elections, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Friday as Greece prepares for the first round of local polls Sunday.
With speculation growing about whether the New Democracy-PASOK government would be able to survive damaging results next Sunday, both Samaras and Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos sought to allay any concerns about the coalitions future.
An increasing number of people realize that the current government has to complete its task and to see out its four-year term, he said in an interview with Proto Thema newspaper. Even MPs who did not vote with us recently can see this.
It was not clear if Samaras was referring to Democratic Left (DIMAR) and its 14 MPs, which left the government in 2013, or some of the independent lawmakers, who now number 20. The prime minister also said he believes that Golden Dawn will gradually lose support.
A poll carried out by e-Voice for the paraskhnio.gr news website put ND at 23.1 percent and SYRIZA at 22.2 percent followed by the Olive Tree alliance that PASOK is part of at 7.3 percent. Alco put SYRIZA on 23.4 percent, ahead of ND with 22 percent. Olive Tree came fifth on 5.1 percent.
A poll by Palmos Analysis for TVXS.gr puts SYRIZA way ahead of ND with 25.4 percent to the conservatives 20.3 percent. PASOKs alliance was in fifth with 4.9 percent.
Venizelos also ruled out the possibility of snap elections but warned voters...
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