Election ennui

If you're not a supporter of SYRIZA and are hoping for some surprises in the upcoming elections, please raise your hand high so we can all see it. For the past eight years, opinion polls have consistently shown Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the conservative prime minister, in the lead. Even if these polls are manipulated, as the leftist opposition suggests, they cannot completely reverse the advantage of New Democracy. The wiretapping scandal, which dealt a severe blow to the country's democratic norms and institutions, does not seem to have affected voter preferences significantly. Similarly, the Tempe rail disaster in February had only a brief impact on voter attitudes.

In addition to all of that, we have seen this scenario play out before. The party that is polling in second place is pushing for multiple TV debates, while the front-runner is refusing. Party officials are scouring...