The latest voter’s survey in Greece shows that the Left wing SYRIZA party is running neck and neck with the conservatives of New Democracy. Whoever wins will have a titanic task on its hands to try and save the birthplace of democracy.
The economic disaster that has ravaged the country since 2008 has taken a heavy toll on the people. Basic services are close to collapse, jobless levels are soaring ever higher and civil unrest is on the rise.
Severely ill patients have spoken out about the deterioration of the countries healthcare with many claiming that access to vital medication is proving increasingly difficult. Many patients have condemned the lack of funding to the health system claiming that the shortage of social insurance funds has condemned them suffer and worsen their illness.
“I just want to die like a human being, where I’m sitting,” said Michalis Tsakantonis, an unemployed cancer patient who also suffers from diabetes and a weak heart. He is unable to claim a pension and cannot afford to buy the drugs he needs. Cancer patients highlighted their inability to afford prescription medication that can cost from 200 euro to 4,000 Euros a month.
Dimitra Kontogianni, the general secretary of the Greek society for MS patients said:
“Our basic medication costs up to 1,000 Euros a month, apart from the other drugs that we got for free. Now you have to begin a marathon in order to get one box of drugs and, as soon as you find them, you’re filled with anxiety about whether you can get the next box.The worst thing is that you don’t die but deteriorate on a daily basis and new health problems constantly arise.”
Basic supplies are becoming increasingly scarce in the austerity hit nation. Basic medication, blood bags and medical implements are all running out and many doctors fear that it is a matter of time before the death toll begins to rise to out of control levels. Diseases once thought eradicated from the country have made a return and fears of a pandemic are increasing.
The worsening situation has caused Greek society to crumble and racial violence is on the increase. Dozens of attacks on foreigners have been reported in the last week. The latest incident saw a 28-year old Egyptian man hospitalised with serious injuries after he was brutally attacked by suspected fascists.
The attackers set about smashing the windows of the house and two cars outside the house, three of the house’s residents managed to escape, but the injured man was beaten. The police have caught six people suspected of committing the attack; local residents claim that they are members of the far-right party the Neo- Nazi Golden Dawn.
Unemployment is spiraling out of control and has seen many professional Greeks forced to leave the cities and return home to the countryside. Things have become so desperate that people are seeing a return to farms as preferable to struggling in urban areas where basic amenities are becoming increasingly scarce.
The leader of the SYRIZA party Alexis Tsipras is confident that his party will emerge victorious on June 17th.
At a press conference he defiantly said: “After two consecutive elections, people demand a clear direction, we will put an end to the rotten, corrupt and ineffective political and economic system that threatens Greece’s Eurozone membership. Lest there be any doubt, my movement – Syriza – is committed to keeping Greece in the Eurozone. This Sunday we will bring Greece into a new era of growth and prosperity. The new era begins on Monday. If we are elected, we will move swiftly to recapitalise banks with common voting shares, what we call socialisation of the banking system, put them under public and social control so that Greek depositors feel safe.”
Tsipras said that if elected, he would halve his own salary as prime minister and scrap benefits for politicians. He added that the banks represent the biggest threat for the country because they fear they will not be able to feast on state money anymore, adding that vested and entangled interests fear of the rules of democracy.
Meanwhile Tsipras’s opponent Antonis Samaras launched his New Democracy’s campaign claiming that the influx of illegal immigrants into the country has damaged the economy.
He said; “Greece has experienced an invasion of illegal immigrants, we shall stop it. We are calling for the support of society to become a country of security and democracy, There can be no freedom in the city if it cannot protect its citizens from fear, without security fear reigns. The citizens of Athens, of Agios Panteleimonas as well as of Patras and other cities are aware of this.” He concluded; “No one can be free when one is afraid for his or her family, from impunity and crime.”
Whoever wins, they will have a massive task ahead of them. Neither side wants to leave the single currency but depending on the result Greece will need some tough measures to save it. The Euro continues to be weighed down by worries over the result with many observers claiming that a repeat of the stalemate from the last election could prove a total disaster.
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