Greek Opposition Sweeps City Elections

Greek voters handed Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou his second rebuke in a week Sunday as the opposition New Democracy party swept to victory in nationwide municipal elections.

Papandreou’s opponents seized control by wide margins in Greece’s three largest cities--Athens, Piraeus and Salonica--and early returns showed them likely to upset the prime minister’s forces in scores of towns and villages.

His Panhellenic Socialist Movement, which has had contentious relations with the United States and most of the rest of Western Europe since 1981, suffered stinging setbacks in more than 200 of the country’s 300 sizeable towns in the first round of municipal elections a week ago, forcing the runoff elections that were held Sunday.

Greek political analysts said the near-landslide for the conservative New Democracy reflected a nationwide disillusionment with Papandreou’s austerity policies that have frozen wages, slowed imports and curbed public spending in a desperate effort to curb the country’s 24% inflation and $3-billion current accounts deficit.

But they added that the results, while stunning, will not weaken Papandreou’s hold on the national government, where the Socialists hold an absolute parliamentary majority and appear in unshakable control until the government’s term of office ends in June, 1989.

But the switch of voter sentiment already has exerted a measure of pressure on the prime minister, who acknowledged as much in a generally statesmanlike declaration after more than 50% of the election returns were in.

“I must point out that these elections sent important messages of the people to the government,” he said, “but not only to the government, and I want to assure every citizen that we will respond to his wishes, expectations and demands.”

Papandreou’s conciliatory attitude after the election defeat suggested to analysts that he was attempting to rise above the local fray and re-establish his personal popularity with the people.

‘Vote of Condemnation’

However, his leading opponent, New Democracy chief Constantine Mitsotakis, called Sunday’s results “not only a vote of protest but a vote of condemnation of government policy.”

Miltades Evert, 47, who unseated Socialist Mayor Dimitris Beis of Athens, cautioned his followers not to become too excited as tens of thousands of them poured into the city’s streets, waving victory flags from horn-honking automobile caravans, setting off fireworks, marching and singing. The government mobilized 15,000 police to keep control.

“Go back home quietly and respect the peace of the city,” he said in a statement that the government refused to broadcast on radio or television.

“The victory is great; there are no defeats among our people,” said Mitsotakis, whose hold as New Democracy party leader had been weakened by his own sharp loss to Papandreou in 1985’s national elections. Political analysts said Mitsotakis gained a firm new hold over the center-right party with Sunday’s successful results.

Several Greek political journalists said the results have at least shaken Papandreou and will put pressure on him to modify his sometimes extreme leftist policies.

“It will be demoralizing, at least,” said one, “but the threat is more psychological than political because these municipal elections do not change the national picture.”

In Athens, with more than 50% of the vote counted Sunday night, New Democracy candidate Evert held 55.7% of the vote.

The center-right party in Salonika was ahead with 52.59%, and the party led with 52.51% in Piraeus, a longtime leftist stronghold. The three municipalities contain about 20% of all Greek voters, and similar results in many of their suburbs brought the results to more than half of all Greeks voting against the Papandreou party at the local level, election analysts said.