Greek politicians make final appeals

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras used his last speech of the campaign to warn voters against voting for the far-left Syriza party, which has vowed to roll back austerity measures and renegotiate the terms of the country's international bailout package.

"Two worlds are clashing. People want to stay in the euro - they do not have time for experiments," Samaras said. "Syriza will turn all of Europe against Greece.... They don't understand Europe, they don't believe in Europe."

The prime minister also said he was confident that the one in five undecided Greek voters polled would "give the vote to us and their children's future" when they cast their ballots on Sunday. His campaign has been based on trying to convince voters that the austerity measures he has implemented, including public sector layoffs, privatizations, and cuts to education and health care spending, will fix Greece's economy in the long term.

However, with unemployment above 25 percent, it is a tough sell, and recent opinion polls showed that New Democracy's chances of victory were fading, with some surveys giving Syriza a lead of more than six percent.

Looking to take on the 'troika'

For his part, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras (pictured abovel left) called on Greek voters to give his party an absolute majority in order to strengthen his hand in negotiations he plans to launch with the country's creditors, the so-called "troika" of the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.

Tsipras said by electing Syriza, voters would allow Greece to "regain its dignity," something he and his party argue that the current government lost by complying with the terms of the troika's bailout terms.

Although Syriza has softened its approach somewhat since the height of Greece's financial crisis, some analysts fear that an attempt by it to renegotiate the terms of the bailout could lead to what has been dubbed a "Grexit" - Greece having to leave the group of countries that use Europe's common currency, the euro.

German 'solidarity'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who many Greeks blame for pushing a hard line on budgetary discipline in the eurozone, reiterated on Friday that she wanted Greece to continue to use the euro.

"At the heart of our principles lies solidarity. I want Greece, despite the difficulties, to remain part of our story," she told a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Florence. At the same time though, she also restated Berlin's position that no matter which party or parties form the next government in Athens, it will be expected to live up to Greece's international agreements.

"These two sides of the same coin will apply also in the future. I am sure that we will find solutions," she said.

pfd/bk (Reuters, dpa, AFP)