Greek vote becomes an EU war of nerves

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ATHENS, Greece, June 15 (UPI) -- Greece's second general election in six weeks is becoming a war of nerves between opposing groups vying for influence on the electorate and eventually power to change ties with the rest of Europe.

Greeks vote Sunday amid conflicting predictions the ballot will spell the end of the euro in the union's eastern extremity or weaken the 17-nation eurozone enough to trigger copycat actions in other EU member states disgruntled by the crisis and the European Union's austerity regime.

The uncertainty over the final outcome is partly due to a legal ban in Greece on opinion polls for two weeks before polling day. Analysts said none of the prognoses advanced in the Greek and European news media could be relied upon to give an approximate answer to the key question: will Greece ditch the euro and revert to the drachma?

Center-right New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras echoed that question, calling it decisive. But other politicians in the race say the voter choice is unlikely to be that stark and that support for the euro remains strong, even among Greeks incensed over the politicians' conduct and EU demands for huge austerity cuts.

Groups with different shades of opinion and pledged policy after the poll want EU bailout terms modified to give Greeks more time and more leeway to sort out its problems.

Only the communist KKE backs the extreme option of unilaterally canceling all debt, getting out of the European Union and bringing the drachma back. But KKE's share of the vote is seen to be less than 1-10th of the total. Five of the other six major political groups either reject the bailout or want its terms changed.

Greece received two international bailouts worth $138 billion in 2010 and a follow-up package worth $163 billion last year.

But Athens also got saddled with tough austerity conditions that most Greeks now oppose.

Front-runner Coalition of the Radical Left Syriza declared it would demand major bailout revisions, an argument it says has been strengthened by EU concessions granted to troubled Spain, a much larger economy with greater expectations.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras continued his populist refrain in the last campaign rally Thursday, ruling out an exit from the eurozone but also lashing out at Germany, seen as the chief architect of the austerity package.

In fiery campaign rhetoric Tsipras blamed both left-wing and right-wing main parties for Greece's economic problems but also accused the politicians of selling out to Germany.

Greece is the second EU member openly to challenge German Chancellor Angela Merkel. French President Francois Hollande won May election against Nicolas Sarkozy on a program of confronting Merkel on austerity and has seen support for growth-inducing policies increase in EU circles.

This weekend Hollande is poised to sweep through French parliamentary elections and is likely to emerge stronger than Merkel with more EU leverage on who does what in the eurozone.

Hollande warned "friend" Greece could be thrown out of the eurozone if it failed to toe EU line -- a stronger voice than Merkel's and one seen likely to shift balance of power in the union's top echelons.