Chief opposition SYRIZA members believe that Stavros Dimas, nominee for president of the Hellenic republic, will not be on the third and crucial ballot and that the coalition have another candidate standing by. A climate of optimism prevails in SYRIZA headquarters over the presidential election. Party members seem certain that the New Democracy-PASOK coalition will not be able to get the 180 votes needed to elect a president from the present parliament and will be forced to go to general elections in early 2015. Having a clear lead in opinion polls, SYRIZA chief Alexis Tsipras already talks of a new leftist government “for the people.” As SYRIZA sees more and more MPs refusing to vote for the coalition nominee, its members are preparing for general elections. Several independent MPs seem to oppose Dimas’ candidacy because they believe he will follow the coalition policies of austerity. Therefore, he will not receive the 180 votes in favor. The party spokesperson Nikos Pappas said that SYRIZA is starting its election campaign and said, “this is the most important battle Greek citizens will have to fight in decades.” However, members of the opposition say that it is possible for the coalition to have a Plan B for the presidential election. Stavros Dimas has the right to withdraw from the ballot and there may be another nominee for the third ballot; and the new nominee may be a person who might get the 180 votes needed. The present government has the constitutional right to propose a new nominee for the third ballot. Still, the certainty that the current parliament will not elect a president is prevalent. Costas Simitis: It is not realistic to find the 180 votes needed Commenting on the issue of the presidential election, former prime minister of Greece Costas Simitis said, “It is not realistic to say that a president will be elected; the government doesn’t have the 180 votes required.” Speaking at the London School of Economics on the occasion of publishing his new book “The European Debt Crisis – The Greek Case,” Simitis answered questions from the audience. Regarding the strong possibility of general elections, Simitis said that, “SYRIZA may not get the majority in parliament and may need to form a coalition with another party… The political and economic situation in Greece will change drastically, since the new government will not be willing to cooperate with the European Union, according to EU rules.”
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