Greek legislative election, May 2012

• KKE: 26
• SYRIZA: 52
• DIMAR: 19
• PASOK: 41
• ND: 108
• Anel: 33
• XA: 21

The parliamentary elections in Greece in May 2012 was held on 6 May 2012. It was an early election, which was required about two and a half years after the election of October 2009 already, because the Greek President Karolos Papoulias on a proposal of the Prime Minister Loukas Papademos 11 April 2012 dissolved the Greek Parliament.

The two major political parties New Democracy ( ND) and the Social Democratic Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima (PASOK ) suffered heavy losses at the polls, and reached no common government majority. For the first time drew the neo-Nazi and racist Golden Dawn in parliament, as well as the right-wing populist Anexartiti Ellines and the left Dimokratiki Aristera. The Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA ) was surprisingly second strongest force. International Press feared that the country will become ungovernable. The leaders of the three largest parties failed one after another in an attempt to form a government. The elections were held on 17 June 2012.

Prehistory

The early elections were a result of the vibrations of Greece by the Greek financial crisis. The Socialist PASOK had indeed obtained an absolute majority at the 2009 election, carried by their government of Prime Minister Papandreou but lost due to the initiated to tackle the crisis austerity measures and tax increases as well as the economic recession soon in popularity and had increasing difficulties in Parliament the for for more drastic measures necessary support, especially as the opposition party New Democracy ( ND) refused any cooperation under Andonis Samaras until Papandreou resigned in November 2011. The guided by the non-party Prime Minister Loukas Papademos transitional government was supported by the two major parties, as well as temporarily from the right-wing populist LAOS with the aim to implement the EU decisions of 26 October 2011 on a haircut and its prerequisites. ( The haircut later found actually taken ). The ND made ​​the conduct of elections while a condition for their support.

Electoral system

Were elected 300 deputies.

The election was conducted in a substantially influenced by the proportional representation electoral system. 288 of the 300 seats were elected in 56 constituencies, the per constituency assigned number of seats depending on the population in each constituency is different; thus accounting for the largest constituency Athens -B with 1.4 million eligible voters 42 seats. The election shall be by party lists. The voters could mark their preferred candidate within the constituency list of their chosen party. In eight small constituencies a mandate was only ever awarded; this was the candidate with the most votes, so the election system also contained elements of majority voting. Twelve seats were awarded on the basis of a nationwide list for pure proportional representation.

A party had to overcome a blocking clause from 3 percent in order to enter Parliament can. The distribution of seats was made in such a way that the party or electoral alliance, the most votes were cast, received 50 seats as a bonus. Only parties and no collective alliances can benefit from this right. The remaining seats were distributed proportionally among all parties who have overcome the electoral threshold of 3 percent. This larger parties are preferred and the formation of government capable majorities favored.

Entitled to vote all Greek citizens were over the age of 18 years, a total of 9.85 million voters. In Greece, voting is compulsory; whose violation is not sanctioned.

Parties

At the general election in 2012 36 parties, coalitions and nominations had registered her candidacy; 32 of them, the Supreme Court Areopagus has admitted to choice.

The previous parliamentary parties:

Opinion polls before the election

Already the opinion questions before the election left a strong change and fragmentation of 1974 was dominated by the two major parties New Democracy and PASOK party landscape expect. The PASOK, who received 44 percent of the vote in 2009, fell in the survey values ​​from 14.5 to 15.4 per cent on. The ND is 19 to 24 percent according to the polls, although the strongest party, but, although the Greek electoral law prefers the strongest party, far away from a possible absolute majority. Approximately nine smaller parties could make the leap over the three- percent threshold, including next to the communist KKE, the Left party SYRIZA, the right-wing populist LAOS, the resulting from chipping Dimokratiki Aristera and Dimokratiki Symmachia, the Greens, the newly formed Independent Greeks ( Anel ) and the far-right, neo-Nazi Golden Dawn.

The PASOK gathered before the election behind her new Chairman Evangelos Venizelos. The ND - chairman Samaras had despite the low prospect of an absolute majority, thus close down thoughts on a coalition of the two major parties, the ( 65.7 percent) were in favor surveys by a large majority, far from him, and announced that if necessary must be followed by another election.

Election result

• New Democracy
• Coalition of the Radical Left
• Panhellenic Socialist Movement
• Communist Party of Greece

Government formation

The Greek Constitution stipulates in Article 37 that the chairman of the largest party receives the order to form a government by the President of the Republic. No functioning government majority is made, then the chairman of the second largest party gets the mandate to form a government. The failure of this attempt is the mandate to the Chairman of the third largest party. Each exploratory job is valid for three days. If all three exploratory contracts fail, must be carried out until June 17, 2012 elections.

Even the initial projections indicated that owing to the emerging majorities to form a government could be difficult; the final election results confirmed this. Andonis Samaras, the New Democracy party leader, received the next day by President Karolos Papoulias an order to form a government. Samaras announced after a few hours that a government formation is impossible, and returned the mandate.

On May 8, was the chairman of the second-placed left-wing party alliance SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, the mandate to form a government. He took this job media attention; so he divided the EU leaders, in writing, the Greek people have explained to the election, the promises of austerity measures to be null and void. Since he can not find partners for a coalition that should make a departure from the austerity, he gave the mandate on May 9 back. Then was the chairman of the third largest party, PASOK, Evangelos Venizelos, the order to form a government. For a short time a coalition government with the Democratic Left and the New Democracy seemed possible. But the Democratic left made under its chairman Fotis Kouvelis the condition that the left-wing alliance SYRIZA should be involved in the coalition government with what the Alliance refused. For the last exploratory mission was also failed. After President Papoulias in talks with all party leaders on 13 and 14 May failed to persuade the parties to form a majority government performance, he suggested a layer formed of non-partisan experts " government of experts " to, but this was also rejected. According to Article 37 paragraph 3 of the Greek Constitution, the President therefore had one of the chief judge as prime minister of an interim government - he opted for Panagiotis Pikrammenos - nominate for the conduct fresh elections.