“If you talk to 10 people, eight of them will tell you they voted for Tsipras and two for New Democracy. How is that possible?’ On the old 8th Street in Nice, the owner of a nearby cafe listens with obvious disbelief to the district’s post-election discussions.

Of the residents of Nicaea he knows, he tells K, very few admit to being among the 35.16% who gave primacy to New Democracy in their municipality, leaving the official opposition party in second place by more than 13 points. . A little further west, in a women’s clothing store in Drapezon, the question is repeated, this time with a touch of anger. “I have been in the store for 12 years. People come who are having a hard time, and I know that,” says the owner of the clients who said they would vote for SYRIZA. “Actually, I’m waiting for you around the corner.” I want to see what they tell me. Suddenly no one knows who voted for New Democracy.”

In the municipalities of Drapetsona-Keratsiniou and Nicaea-Agios-Ioannis-Rentis, as well as in 2nd Piraeus, which also includes Korydallos, Perama and Salamina, the relationship that developed after the May 21 elections caused surprise. Neighborhoods of low-income and insecure workers, with a long tradition of labor struggles, have been trading grounds for left-wing ideas — and throughout the recent campaign period for Syrian leaflets. The owner of a mini-market in Nice told K that mainly members of SYRIZA and KKE showed up in the area to leave campaign materials and talk to people. “It’s hard to hear about ND here,” she herself says with post-election surprise.

Along the old street 8, known for many years as Panagi Tsaldari, there are all kinds of small shops, the headquarters of the trade union and the Museum of National Resistance. Its pedestrian zone facilitates the movement of people, and because it is connected to a metro station, it leaves a growing market suspicious, although many shops have remained boarded up since the start of the financial crisis. On this road and in the gorges surrounding it, traces of the fugitive Kokkinia are still preserved. Characteristic two-storey houses with double staircases and shared patios in the middle of small complexes. Once poor structures that housed the natives, a struggle for survival and often the avant-garde. Since then, a lot has changed, for example, the world of work itself, but not the myth that surrounds it. It seems that many expected myth, not reality, to determine the outcome of the vote. However, those from the 2nd Piraeus who spoke with “K” showed that it was the practical problems and fears that turned Kokkinia blue.

Abstinence and fear

The almost reflexive appeal to the least likely explanation also gave the analysis of the election results the air of a conspiracy theory. From Nicaea to Drapezona, there have been many who answered “fake” to explain what seems difficult to understand. “A friend tells me, ‘Don’t look, this has become what everyone believes in. We hear SYRIZA, SYRIZA and in the end we see the results and they are on the floor,” says the owner of a nearby cafe. step back from the process. He adds that he knows many who did not vote, driven by frustration “for the labors of politicians.” She attributes the fall of SYRIZA to her immigration policy, which she believes increased the percentage of foreigners in the region. “Here was a second Omonia ‘ she says as a foreign customer buys something from her store.

Near the “barbershop” in the corner below, two women attribute the elevation to N.D. and the fall of SYRIZA to fear. “I think people are more afraid of the unknown,” says one. “They once tried the unknown and they didn’t succeed, so they tell you: “We eat firewood here, but at least we know what awaits us.” She is not the only one we met during the campaign who, voting for SYRIZA, believes that the electorate cannot forgive the party for what it considers bilingualism after the 2015 referendum.

“We all vote for the least worst,” says a 45-year-old man who runs a family clothing business. “I don’t believe people voted for Mitsotakis because they love him. People are too scared. Now the fear has become autoimmune. I voted for a small party because I swore that I would not vote for anyone who ruled by memorandum.” The shoe store owner is in the same mood: “I didn’t see Merkel dancing,” he says, referring to earlier SYRIZA campaign promises.

Solving a crossword puzzle, sitting in front of the front door of her small one-story house to get some air, an elderly woman claims she has no idea about politics, but she voted. “I didn’t vote for Mitsotakis or Tsipras,” he says. “I voted for Nicky. If he was a Christian, that’s what they forced on us, that’s what we voted for.” “Who set you up?” we ask her with interest. “The papers (ie ballots) were given to me by two women from the church,” he said. “The priests have nothing to do with it,” he explained.

Maniatis, in uniform, SYRIZA

A shopkeeper from Drapezona, whose husband told her to turn off the TV after the exit poll on the evening of May 21 “because it would hurt her,” credits the election victory to the ND. on the benefits policy: “I think the region is happy with the benefits — people just stick with it,” he says. At a nearby electronics repair shop, the manager is puzzled by a familiar question about the election results. “In my environment, no one says that they voted for N.D., at least openly,” he points out and reflects: “They may be ashamed, because a lot of things have happened over the past four years that cannot be condemned, but maybe they individually got used to the situation and do not want to change anything.”

“The last four years have been his best, at least operationally,” says a Nice firefighter who boldly claims to support the failed government. His electoral history effectively sums up the political landscape of the last decade. The former SYRIZA voter, “because he believed in Alexakos,” he says, is now voting for New Democracy largely because he expects it to bring back a three-year term. “And notice, I am Maniatis, in uniform, and my grandfather was a soldier. He lost four brothers to the communists,” he emphasizes in K. “And yet once I had to overcome it. To tell my people: “Leave yours, now we have our experiences.” This is right. But I voted for a guy my age who said he would pay off his debts, and I was ready to support him even if he left Europe. Instead, he left the country for which we will pay for the next 100 years.
years,” he says decisively.

In a tavern in Drapezon, men of mature age sit idly in chairs on the sidewalk. Our question about the explanation of the results of the elections in their constituency caused a lively discussion, in which supporters of both major parties emerged. “SMEs do the dirty work. Ask them why Mitsotakis came out. Now 1.3 million pensioners will not receive benefits retroactively,” SYRIZA voters seem to say. “Professionals got a lot of hard work,” say ND officials, who explain that small business owners were much more financially burdened during SYRIZA’s rule. A small “antara” dominates for some time in the center of Drapezona, but quickly stops. The pub is owned by the 78-year-old son of former Olympiacos player Ioannis Vazos. “Everyone has their own opinion,” finally says the SYRIZA voter, who until recently was the loudest yeller. “We disagree, but the good thing is that most of us here are Olympians.” Hearing their team, everyone’s style is celebratory, and let them also belong to the losers this year. “Come back on June 26 to see what was wrong again,” they say, saying goodbye to us.

Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsonas

32.7% N.D.
20.39 SYRIZA