The leaders of Greece’s centre-right New Democracy party and the leftwing Syriza coalition, close frontrunners in Sunday’s general election, traded recriminations as they wrapped up a hard-fought campaign with outdoor rallies on Thursday night.
Alexis Tsipras, the Syriza leader, accused New Democracy and the PanHellenic Socialist Movement, which have held power alternately for almost 40 years, of “plundering” Greece.
“You tried to poison Greece with fear and insecurity,” he told a cheering crowd in Omonia square in central Athens. “You pulled down the Greek flag and handed it to [German chancellor] Angela Merkel as a trophy.”
Speaking in a main square in Thessaloniki, Antonis Samaras, the conservative leader, said: ”Do you want the euro and stability or the drachma and isolation?” referring to Syriza’s threat to tear up Greece’s international bailout deal if it comes to power – a move that European leaders have warned could precipitate Greece’s exit from the euro.
Mr Tsipras’s message that Greece could relax austerity yet stay in the euro propelled Syriza into second place at an inconclusive election on May 6, marked by a strong protest vote for smaller parties opposed to the bailout.
François Hollande, the French president, reiterated the European message to Greece on Wednesday in an interview with the Greek television station Mega, warning that Greece must stick to the terms of its second €174bn bailout or risk leaving the single currency.
“If the impression is given that Greece wants to distance itself from its commitments and abandon all prospect of recovery, there will be countries in the eurozone that will prefer to finish with the presence of Greece in the eurozone, “Mr Hollande said.
Mr Samaras was due to make a last campaign speech in Syntagma square in Athens on Friday evening. Opinion polls are banned in Greece in the two weeks before an election but both the leading parties say unpublished polls give New Democracy a very narrow lead over Syriza. Two pollsters noted on Friday that 10-12 per cent of voters were still undecided.

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