With resounding victory in Greece, Kyriakos strengthens Mitsotaki’s grip on power

Greek voters overwhelmingly re-elected the conservative New Democracy party on Sunday, preliminary results showed, paving the way for its leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to tighten his grip on power with an absolute majority and what he called a “strong mandate” for the foreseeable period. future.

With his landslide victory, voters seemed to have looked past his government’s ties to a series of scandals and embraced his promise of continued economic stability and prosperity.

With 91 percent of the vote counted as of 9:45 p.m., the party had 40.5 percent and was poised to win 158 seats in Greece’s 300-member parliament, well ahead of the opposition party Syriza, which was in second place with 17. .8 percent. with 47 seats. The socialist party Pasok took third place with 12.5 percent and received 32 seats.

In a rack Speaking from his party’s headquarters in Athens, the capital, Mr. Mitsotakis described the results as “a strong mandate to accelerate the path of great change”.

He also said of those who voted, “In a resounding and mature manner, they definitively ended a traumatic cycle of toxicity that had held the country back and divided society.”

However, turnout was just over 52 percent, down from 61 percent in the first election in May, according to preliminary results. Earlier on Sunday, Greek television showed images of full beaches after a final week of campaigning in which politicians had called on voters not to give up their votes for the waves.

New Democracy won the first election in May by 20 percentage points — the largest margin in decades. But it had failed to get the votes needed for an absolute majority in parliament. Mr Mitsotakis, who as prime minister had overseen a period of economic stability and tough anti-migrant measures, opted for a second vote under a system that awards bonus seats in parliament to the winning party.

The gamble worked.

Now, with an expected solid majority in parliament, Mr Mitsotakis will have more freedom to make policy and will most likely urge international credit rating agencies to lift their ratings on Greek bonds, which remain in junk status, to the coveted investment grade, lowering the country’s borrowing costs.

Mr Mitsotakis came to power in the 2019 elections, when his party also won 158 seats. He was prime minister until May this year and then stepped aside after the unclear vote.

He has vowed to keep his focus on prosperity, appealing to voters over revelations of state intelligence wiretapping of an opposition leader, a deadly train crash in February that killed 57 people and a catastrophic shipwreck off the coast of Greece in which hundreds of people died, seemed to be overlooked. migrants, as the government faced fierce criticism for its harsh migration policies.

“I never promise miracles,” he said on Sunday, “but I can assure you that I will remain true to my duty, with planning, dedication and, above all, hard work.” He added that his second term could “transform” Greece with dynamic growth rates that would raise wages and reduce inequalities, vowing: “I will be the prime minister of all Greeks.”

The Greek economy stabilized under Mr Mitsotakis after being rocked by a decade-long financial crisis that shattered Greek society and shook the Eurozone. Growth this year has been twice the eurozone average, boosted by his government’s tax cuts, while wages and pensions have risen and big investors are once again pumping money into the economy.

This performance has reassured many Greeks who feared a return to the uncertainty and turmoil of the crisis years, analysts say.

“One should not underestimate what this economic stability and growth means in material but also in psychological terms for a country that has been on the verge of economic collapse for the past decade,” said Lamprini Rori, a professor of political analysis at the University of Athens. .

Bolstering the country’s international image and position, as well as bolstering people’s sense of security and national pride, all meant “positive analysis” for New Democracy, she said.

The center-left Syriza is led by Alexis Tsipras, under whose wing Greece was about to leave the eurozone in 2015. Tsipras had promised justice and change and called Mitsotakis arrogant and his government “an irresponsible regime that poses a danger to society.”

On Sunday, Mr Tsipras said the election results were mostly negative for society and democracy. The fact that three far-right parties would enter parliament along with New Democracy was a “warning bell,” he said.

Analysts said the opposition struggled to gain traction in a rejuvenated economy.

“The opposition narrative was ‘down with the junta’ and ‘we’ve become a banana republic,'” said Harry Papasotiriou, a professor of international relations at Panteio University in Athens. “But people saw economic growth.”

With New Democracy’s dominance virtually unchallenged, Mr Tsipras is likely to face new questions about his future as there is no clear potential successor for the charismatic former communist firefighter.

Syriza also faced increased support for far-left fringe parties, including Sailing for Freedom, which was founded by former Syriza official Zoe Konstantopoulou and was about to gain national representation for the first time. It received 3.1 percent of the vote, or eight seats.

The support for fringe parties showed the failure of both the Syriza and Pasok parties to convince voters that they can provide a dynamic opposition, Professor Rori said.

Aside from Mr Mitsotakis’ strong showing, the small, relatively unknown party of Spartans performed surprisingly well, appearing poised to enter the Greek parliament with 13 seats after winning 4.7 percent of the vote.

The party, which takes a nationalistic, anti-migrant stance, had only registered in opinion polls a few weeks before the June elections, when Ilias Kasidiaris, the imprisoned former spokesman for the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, publicly supported it after his own party was barred from participating due to his criminal convictions.

In a televised statement, Spartan leader Vasilis Stingas thanked Mr. Kasidiaris for his support, which he said was the “fuel” for the party’s success, adding: “We are here to unite, not to divide.”

Other smaller parties on track to enter parliament include the little-known ultra-Orthodox, pro-Russian, hard-right party Niki, with 10 seats. It began to gain support in the weeks leading up to elections in May.

The presence of new smaller anti-system parties in the next Greek parliament will add more voices to the chorus of criticism against Mr Mitsotakis – but not necessarily in a productive way, according to Professor Rori.

She vividly remembers the chaotic sessions involving Golden Dawn and Ms. Konstantopoulou, and fears a degeneration of the Greek political opposition.

“It was all about impressions, stalemates, toxicity,” she said.