Greek Prime Minister and leader of the conservative New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis gestures to his party supporters during his last electoral rally ahead of Greece’s scheduled general elections May 21, with the Acropolis hill in the background, in Athens
The rightwing party of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the current Prime Minister of Greece, won the general elections this Sunday 25th with ease, winning an absolute majority which would, as a prize, allow him a new term in office. The New Democracy (ND) party, which ruled from 2019 to the end of May, garnered 40.5 percent of the vote, more than double Alexis Tsipras’ leftwing Syriza party, which had 17.8 Percent won by counting more than 90% of electoral colleges. According to analysts, the result would guarantee the correct 157 of the 300 seats in Greece’s unicameral parliament. That way, before the elections, Mitsotakis would return to the post of prime minister, which he had to vacate at the end of May. “The people have given us a strong mandate to push ahead with the major changes that the country needs,” the 55yearold politician celebrated in front of members of his party. “The New Democracy is the strongest centreright party in Europe!” Mitsotakis exclaimed outside the party headquarters in Athens.
Four years after coming to power, they have improved their results compared to 2019 when they received 39.85% of the vote. Eight parties are said to have surpassed the three percent threshold for entry into parliament, including the farright Spartiates, who are backed by Ilias Kassidiaris, the former leader of the neoNazi Golden Dawn party, who is in prison. Sunday’s election victory gives the winner a bonus of 50 members in the House of Representatives (out of 300 in total), which could help Mitsotakis decisively. Mitsotakis, son of a former prime minister and uncle of the current mayor of Athens, has consistently boasted about his economic record, which was marked by growth of 8.3% in 2021 and 5.9% in 2022 amid falling unemployment. During his election campaign, Mitsotakis promised wage increases, especially for those on low incomes, which is the number one concern for Greeks given the high cost of living. The Conservative leader also pledged to massively hire staff in the public health sector, which has been suffering from a serious shortage of resources since the financial crisis and austerity programs in many public services.
*With information from AFP