By Antonis Anzoletou

The tragic accident in Tempe and the national mourning in which the country has been plunged did not only change the political environment. It turned upside down the strategy of the parties and the electoral goals they put in the background of the polls whenever they are set up. The big powers are finding their stride and the new polling footprint they have. To the left and to the right of the center the neighboring parties with New Democracy and SYRIZA they hold their own by seeking to play an elevated role.

There was euphoria in the blue camp before the evening of February 28th. The margin of safety it maintained over SYRIZA, according to all opinion polls, gave an air of self-reliance for the second ballots. At Maximos they have not deviated from the specific goal, however they cannot fail to calculate the normal wear and tear that the tragic train accident will bring. The anger and frustration of the people is great, the demonstrations are continuous and the staff state shows that it has several gaps in relation to what the citizens expected. The reflexes, however, from the majority were quick. With the resignations of those in charge, the apology of the prime minister and from the floor of the cabinet, as well as the press conference of Giorgos Gerapetritis the Kyriakos Mitsotakis he made it clear that he didn’t want to waste any time. All the information converges that he will move the elections further back, in May, in order to absorb the intense vibrations that exist in society. Nevertheless, the goal of a percentage that will reach 34% in the first ballots is, by general admission, quite difficult. In the event that New Democracy is the first to cut the thread of simple proportionality, but moves below 32%, things get very narrow for the second electoral contest. In Herodos Attikou, they believe that there is time to highlight the work of the four years and to avoid the “nihilation of the project”, which, as they argue, will be attempted by the entire opposition.

Alexis Tsipras has been insisting for the last time that SYRIZA will win the elections. He always placed great importance on rallying the center-left world just before the polls despite the fact that all the counts were against him. The first polls to emerge after the crash will be critical. In the official opposition, they believe that the government’s indifference to railway safety issues will cost New Democracy dearly, and they claim that the damage it has suffered is irreversible. They believe even more in the primacy and consider the electoral percentage of 2019 (31.53%) as a basis. Victory in simple proportionality is the “ticket” to the creation of a progressive government. Any election number that does not have the “three” in front will cause skepticism in Koumoundourou, as there have been many crises in the past four years and it is customary for the official opposition to reap the spoils of the respective government.

For PASOK things are very different. Nikos Androulakis wants to be the strong “third player” who will be the regulator of developments. The government’s responsibilities for the deaths of dozens of people almost 15 days ago, or the clock going back to 2015-2019 may give some important points to Harilaou Trikoupi who is looking for more than 13%. The president of PASOK wants to leave behind the 8.1% of 2019 and secure a good percentage that will almost double the previous performance. They consider it an achievable goal. Any “score” written by the counter below 10% is clear that it will be considered a big failure and will cause tremors in the party.