The Eurozone's First Post-bailout Election: The 2010 Local Government Contest in Greece

An apparent case of Greek exceptionalism, the 2010 local government election, held six months after the European Union (EU)/International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in the context of an explicit prime-ministerial pledge to call general elections if the outcome was deemed unsatisfactory, did not lea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South European society & politics 2012-06, Vol.17 (2), p.195-216
Main Author: Verney, Susannah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cleavage
Crisis
Elections
Electoral results
European Union
Financial crisis
Greece
IMF
Legitimacy
Local elections
Local Government
Local Government Elections
Memorandum of Understanding
New Democracy
Party politics
PASOK
Political conditions
Political Systems
Strategic behaviour
SYRIZA
Verdicts
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Summary:An apparent case of Greek exceptionalism, the 2010 local government election, held six months after the European Union (EU)/International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in the context of an explicit prime-ministerial pledge to call general elections if the outcome was deemed unsatisfactory, did not lead to the downfall of the incumbent government. Instead the socialists remained first party. Investigating this puzzle, the article examines how party strategies were shaped by the dynamics of a two-round contest fought at the sub-national level and shows that the split around the EU/IMF Memorandum of Understanding did not emerge as a new political cleavage. Assessing the results, it concludes that the main electoral verdict did not concern the future of the bailout but the legitimacy of the political system, which was in a state of deepening crisis.
ISSN:1360-8746
1743-9612
DOI:10.1080/13608746.2012.723326