At one of the many new cafes that have sprung up in downtown Athens, two young Greeks – Maria and Nikos – have agreed to sit down and share their thoughts on media speculation that Greece could go to the polls early next year. Some are suggesting an election could take place as early as February. Most Greeks are against the idea of another election so soon.

Having studied architecture in Amsterdam, 29-year-old Maria Panopoulou recently returned to Athens to be close to her family. She remains unemployed and, for the time being, is living at home with her parents. Between sips of a four-euro freddo cappuccino, and constantly checking her iPhone for notifications, she doesn’t hesitate to tell it like it is and that is right now, Greece does not need another election.

“I do believe that our political system needs a total overhaul, I really do, but we have just started to see a tiny, but positive change for the better in terms of mood and confidence, what we don’t need is further instability, which is just what an election would cause,” Maria says.

She says Greece “must remain in the eurozone” and believes the current coalition government, led by New Democracy, is the only realistic way forward, for now.

“Although, like many Greeks, I have had enough of the years of corruption and mismanagement by New Democracy and PASOK, I really don’t have any faith that any of the other parties can do a better job,” Maria says.

“With that in mind, it’s better to stick with the status quo,” she adds.

Maria’s former high-school mate Nikos Arvanitis doesn’t agree. Although he has been sitting with us quietly, carefully listening to Maria’s comments, he suddenly begins to talk, raising his voice to shares his thoughts.

“Absolutely not, in no way is it better to stick with these criminals,” Nikos says.

“They have systematically destroyed our country and left an entire generation, if not more, with no hope. The time for change is now,” says the 30-year-old part-time bartender who earns 250-euro a month, plus tips.

“How can I live like that? I can’t, my parents cannot support me. I am tired of living like this.

“I don’t have a car, an iPhone and I don’t go on holidays – enough with this myth that we are all living a fancy life and are too lazy to work,” he says.

Nikos admits he doesn’t completely trust that an Alexis Tsipras-led SYRIZA party can form a government, let alone make a real go of it, however, he also knows that Greece cannot go on like this.

“Change is a must at this stage, so if that means elections in February then so be it, let’s go to the polls and see what happens.”

Yet most others I speak to disagree.

At an Indian restaurant in Monastiraki, I sit down with Eleni and Antonis, to get their thoughts as we share a meal.

Eleni Fanara, a 32-year-old IT manager, says she too is unhappy with the current situation in Greece, but sees no point in another round of elections.

“It’s absolutely useless. It’s not as if we have had any change in terms of our political choices and therefore it’s painfully obvious to see that elections won’t solve our problems. On the contrary, they might cause economic instability and have a negative impact on Greece, politically, financially and socially,” she says.

Eleni believes the country is already being impacted heavily by this non-stop political instability of the last half decade.

“I believe that the most important thing is that people lose their hope and optimism for the future and in many cases end up even leaving the country chasing better work and living conditions.”

She admits the current crisis in combination with the instability is forcing Greece to lose its best young talents while simultaneously keeping foreign investors away from the country.

Eleni says another visit to the polls in 2015 won’t change that.

“I think that there won’t be a clear winner, we will have the same picture as in 2012. They will struggle to get enough votes but only find themselves needing to compromise with a coalition government again. The interesting thing of these elections will be to see which political parties will need to constitute the coalition government,” Eleni says.

She agrees with most others in her age group that while the majority of Greeks do wish for change they are also extremely cautious of the alternatives.

“I definitely agree and keep finding myself trapped with insufficient choices.”

It’s a sentiment shared by her friend Antonis Argoudelis, a self-employed 29-year-old mechanical engineer. Antonis studied in England and Australia before returning to Athens to take over the family business.

“There are no real good choices; we must choose between the best of the worst,” he says.

Antonis says the current opposition – although being very popular amongst people of his generation – have changed their publicly stated policy several times, and on very important issues.

“They are yet to outline their real views on key issues such as the EU, the role of banks in the development of our country, Greece’s shipping industry and some big projects that would significantly boost the construction industry like the old Athens airport and the building of AEK’s new stadium,” explains Antonis.

Despite their lack of a defined, sustainable plan for the future, Antonis says SYRIZA has increased its chances of winning an election should it take place next year but claims it’s difficult to predict the impact a SYRIZA victory would have.

“I strongly believe their power is quite limited due to the external financial forces applied, which are practically the decision makers for Greece.

“From a political point of view though, it will be interesting to see which party they will form a coalition government with, as it is impossible for any party to form a majority government.”

For Antonis, who works seven days a week and takes almost no time off all year, the possibility of another election in Greece in the first months of 2015 will further increase the instability, the uncertainty and the overall feeling of ‘what’s next?’ that Greek society has been captured in since 2009.

“I believe that the tolerance level of the Greek society has been significantly reduced since 2012,” Antonis says, attributing it to unemployment figures which have skyrocketed, while those still fortunate enough to be working have had their wages dramatically cut.

“There still remains this overall sense of insecurity in regards to Greece leaving the EU and what that would mean for the country,” Antonis concludes.

A few days later I meet with a fellow Greek Australian living in Athens. Born in Sydney, Eleni Argyrou, a 35-year-old marketing communications manager, has been living in Greece for almost eight years.

She tells me she is quite alarmed by the possibility of another election midway through the current four-year term.

“Why?” she begins, “I have no faith in our leaders. I feel that any change will lead to unrest and unnecessary policy change simply for the sake of justifying a new party’s position in leadership,” Eleni explains.

“Greece has stabilised as compared to previous years and elections will be detrimental to that. They will simply cause disruption,” adds Eleni, who arrived in Greece shortly before the crisis started and, despite the hardships, has persevered.

“Emotionally, that sense of insecurity is still in the air, albeit at a lesser extent,” she explains.

Eleni admits elections in 2015 could have dire consequences for the company she works for, and her job.

“If political powers change, given the detrimental effect it will have on the country’s stability, it will affect the company’s European expansion strategies.

Further unrest in Greece means that Greece, and Greeks by extension, are viewed as risky business. So if the company has problems as a result, so does its staff, including me.”

Despite that, Eleni believes if Greece is to go to the polls in 2015, New Democracy would once again come out on top and things will continue with the stability of the last two years.