Austerity wins at low turn-out poll

“A milestone victory,” headlines To Ethnos, following the 14 November second round of local and municipal elections in Greece. Despite an exceptionally low turn-out of 46%, Prime Minister George Papandreou’s ruling Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) won eight of the country’s 13 regions and control of the city of Athens. “In spite of the ongoing crisis, and the imposition of painful austerity measures, the people of Greece have given a renewed vote of confidence to the ruling party,’ affirms the left-wing daily, reminding readers that the PM had turned the local elections into a referendum on austerity policy. 14 November was also marked by the arrival of a “troika” mission of representatives of the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF, who will evaluate the application of austerity measures and either grant or withhold approval for the release of the third tranche of a 110 billion loan to the Greek state.