Conservative ND believes it can turn the political tide

Author: newsroom  | Published: January 12, 2015

The conservative ND leadership is counting on undecided voters and hopes to tap into a few centrist To Potami supporters to win on January 25

Opinion polls have set the difference between the main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) party and the conservative New Democracy (ND) party at 3 percentage points with conservative ND Prime Minister Antonis Samaras struggling to reduce and overturn this difference. Those close to Mr. Samaras believe that the political tide could turn in his favor.

Those close to Mr. Samaras state that his optimism is based on the fact that the ND has leeway for improvement in comparison to SYRIZA that seems to be losing impetus. The conservatives are pinning their hopes on the large number of undecided voters. The trend has always been that the genuinely undecided voters are usually swept by the tide of the winner. In the case of these elections, the ND party believes that there is a portion less than 10% that can influence the result and overturn the numbers.

The ND party also believes that it may be able to tap into voters who support the centrist To Potami (River) party. It is believed that a number of these voters may turn to ND when their role in influencing the leadership of the country becomes apparent.

SAMARAS

Mr. Samaras’ electoral lineup shows an interest in gathering all right-wing factions from anti-austerity Independent Greeks (ANEL) to the ultra-right Golden Dawn party. The party secretary describes them as people who will battle from door to door.

In the two weeks prior to the elections, Mr. Samaras will continue to warn the nation of the atrocities in store should SYRIZA win the elections. He will primp himself as the guardian of “law and order” by putting on the table matters such as illegal immigration and security, a matter of interest that coincides with the tragic Charlie Hebdo shooting and hostage situations in Paris.

The choice of the former Athens University dean Theodoros Fortsakis in the chief position of the state ballot is strategic, bearing in mind the hard line that Mr. Fortsakis followed in his publicized handling of left-wing university students.

Mr. Samaras hopes to attract the middle classes and will promise tax decreases, such as:

* further decreases of the single property tax (ENFIA) and its transposition to Local Government
* reduction of the highest income tax rate from 42% to 35%
* reduction to profit rate for corporations from 25% to 15%
* a reduction to higher and then medium rates of VAT tax