Ahead of EU vote, local ballots to test Greek government

Ahead of EU elections on May 25, Greece's embattled government faces a first test in municipal and regional elections on Sunday as the country struggles to return to growth following years of economic crisis.

The local elections, to be held on May 18 and 25, will show how much support remains domestically for the conservative-socialist coalition government after two years of unpopular austerity measures.

"Even though the vote has local characteristics, in essence this is a test of forces between those who tolerate the government's policies and those seeking to send a message of protest,» says political analyst Thomas Gerakis of Marc institute.

Four years of economic crisis -- and a six-year recession -- have shattered the power of the PASOK socialists and the New Democracy conservatives, the two parties that ruled Greece for the last 40 years, and which currently form the government.

The coalition majority in the 300-seat parliament has dwindled to 152 deputies after successive fiscal measures demanded by Greece's EU-IMF creditors.

Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras insists the country has finally turned the corner and that recovery is in sight without need for further painful sacrifices.

"The difficulty is over, the only way now is upwards,» Samaras told his party lawmakers last week.

Greece is about to register slim growth in 2014 and painful fiscal reforms mandated by EU-IMF creditors finally seem to be paying off.

But this progress has come at a heavy cost -- record unemployment, mounting poverty and a 25-percent decline in the country's overall output.

Voters have flocked to anti-austerity parties, mainly radical left Syriza, which have become the main opposition movement after pledging to scrap...