From the enclaves of north London to Queens in New York City and Oakleigh and Northcote in Melbourne: an entire nation-in-exile is holding its breath before Sunday’s pivotal Greek elections. And for some, the vote is so important that they are even making plans to return to the homeland this week so they can cast their ballot. Ikaros Matsoukas, a 34-year-old management consultant at BHP Billiton, is one of more than 200,000 who have left Greece since the crisis bit five years ago. He feels so strongly about an election in which the leftist Eurosceptics of Syriza are in pole position that he plans to fly home at the weekend. “I believe it is the most important [election] in recent times in Greece,” Matsoukas said. “The coalition parties, with the same politicians, have been ruling the country for the last 40 years and have led Greece to this dire situation so I believe it is time for someone new.
Stefanos Livos, 30, a distance learning coordinator for the East London NHS foundation trust, is flying home to Zante on Friday for the elections but hasn’t decided who to vote for yet.
“I was leaning towards Syriza,” he said. “But I don’t feel happy with my vote. But at the same time I don’t think there is anything out there to vote for that will make me feel happy and satisfied.
“It’s difficult because the differences in the party are not that different and even Syriza are becoming more moderate. This is why people feel uncomfortable about voting for Syriza because they can see what’s going to happen,” he said.
Full Article: Greek election: expats in London, New York and Melbourne hold breath | World news | theguardian.com.
