The former conservative prime minister was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister. What will happen to his leftist rival from Syriza, Tsipras?
The biggest challenger for Greek conservatives under their old and new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was the hot summer weather on Sunday. 700,000 fewer voters than five weeks ago went to the polls in parliamentary elections, and turnout was surprisingly low at 53 percent. The queues of cars heading to the beaches indicated where the electorate’s preferences were going.
A hit in the water
Despite the Greeks’ electoral fatigue, Mitsotakis managed to repeat the triumph of May 21 and even extend the advantage over the second, the left wing Syriza, under the command of Alexis Tsipras. In contrast to the election five weeks ago, his Nea Dimokratia (ND) won an absolute majority with 158 seats in the 300-member parliament due to the increased proportional representation applied in the election. ND has now reached 40.6 percent, Syriza 17.8 percent of the vote – a left-wing deficit of almost 23 points.