Greeks go to polls in cliffhanger election

Greeks go to the polls today in the aftermath of deadly forest fires to vote in a closely fought election seen as critical for reforms needed in the Eurozone's second-poorest member.

The heirs to Greece's two top political families again vie for the top government post, pledging to create jobs, improve standards of living and shore up an ailing pension system.

Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, nephew of the late statesman Constantine, scored a landslide victory in 2004 against socialist PASOK party leader George Papandreou, son of the late charismatic prime minister Andreas.

But the gap between the two parties has been narrowing due to financial scandals and forest fires that killed 65 people last month, turning voters to smaller parties.

"After the fires I decided to vote for an environmental party. I don't want to vote for one of the big ones who have made a mess of the economy and the environment," said Athens housewife Sofia Ofsanian, 46.

Opinion polls published before a September 1 blackout showed New Democracy leading PASOK by 1 - 2 percentage points with neither garnering enough votes to form a government.

This could force parties to seek coalitions and, if none succeed, a new election would be held.

Papandreou has not ruled out co-operating with other parties, but Karamanlis has made it clear that Greece was headed for repeat elections if he did not win a strong mandate.

The far-right LA.O.S. party is expected to enter parliament for the first time and could end up a powerbroker.

The pressure on the loser to resign will be strong, especially on Papandreou, if he suffers a second defeat.

"PASOK has shown it can move Greece forward. In the past four years we have seen Greece go backwards, ruled by an inefficient and socially unjust government," Papandreou, 55, told Reuters in a recent interview.

Karamanlis prides himself on creating 200,000 jobs since coming to power but unemployment remains above the EU average despite a healthy 4.4 per cent GDP growth rate this year.

"From tomorrow we will continue on the path of reforms with fast, bold steps," Karamanlis said on Friday. "We will continue the changes towards our common goals - a strong economy, dynamic growth, an efficient and responsible state and social cohesion."

About 20 per cent of Greeks live below the poverty line and per capita GDP is the lowest, next to Portugal's, in the Eurozone. Brussels says more structural reforms are needed to make Greece competitive.

The Peloponnese is one area of Greece where candidates in today's election are not visiting.

The survivors of the forest fires have no interest in voting. Many are still mourning their dead.

"We have been burnt here, we can't even think of elections," said 78-year-old Dimos Vlachos from Makistos village, where his wife was among seven people who died.

"We don't see or feel the elections. We are in limbo here, we are in limbo."

In the 2004 election 133,000 people voted in the province of Ilia, the hardest hit by the fires. New Democracy, which won a landslide national victory, got 44.7 per cent in Ilia and the opposition socialist PASOK, 47.6 per cent.