In summer 1994, a new national election appeared possible in the spring of 1995 because of an unprecedented situation. The fiveyear presidential term of Karamanlis was due to end in May; if the Assembly failed to elect a new president by then, a new Assembly would have to be elected. In mid-1994, Papandreou had hinted broadly that he would seek the presidency as the crowning achievement of his political career. Because he was unlikely to garner the required 180 Assembly votes, a Papandreou candidacy would be problematic (see The Presidency , this ch.). Papandreou's withdrawal from consideration in November did not eliminate the prospect of a deadlock over the presidency, however, because several prominent candidates, including Mitsotakis, were likely to provoke strong opposition. Experts expected considerable political maneuvering over this issue in the first months of 1995.

The next election, whenever it occurred, would mark the first occasion since 1984 that the two major parties would not be headed by Mitsotakis and Papandreou, the two men whose personal rivalry defined and polarized Greek politics in that period. It would also force PASOK finally to confront the question of existence without Papandreou. Most importantly, the election had the potential for a major realignment of political forces: it would give a more definite indication of PA's strength, it could signal the end of Synaspismos, and it likely would require both the ND and PASOK to present new images to the Greek electorate.

Data as of December 1994

NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece Prospects for Political Change information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece Prospects for Political Change should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.