The upcoming Greek election appears to be turning in favor of the New Democracy party, according to AMNA/ANA-MPA. Polling released by four of the nation's leading newspapers found the New Democracy party is maintaining a small but measurable lead over its nearest rival, the Radical Left Coalition, known as SYRIZA.
* The Greeks are due to hold an election June 17. Whichever party is voted into power will be tasked with developing a strategy to keep the nation's increasingly shaky economy afloat as it battles to stay a part of the European Union.
* International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said everyone in the European Union should pay taxes, including Greece, as quoted by The Telegraph. It inspired some 10,000 responses from Greek citizens, as well as a corresponding Facebook page of their own, dubbed "Greeks are against Lagarde."
* Former Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, who left office in early May, said the country would be out of money in the next few weeks. He blamed Greece's further downturn on dwindling tax revenues and a more lax spending system after the nation's elections as it struggles to establish a more stable government, according to the Financial Times.
* On May 6, Greek citizens, in an alleged backlash directed at the austerity measures that had been imposed by the incumbent government, handed victory to SYRIZA. SYRIZA, however, failed to establish a coalition government and lost its right to lead until another general election could be held.
* Papademos also warned that should the June 17 election fail to produce an effective government or should that government try to abolish or scale back the austerity measures put into place, it could jeopardize the bailout funding the nation is expecting from the EU and IMF.
Vanessa Evans is a musician, traveler, and freelance writer with an interest in European studies and events.
