Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wins big in second election

Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of Greece's center-right New Democracy (ND) party, has just won a second four-year term as Prime Minister.

Mr Mitsotakis is now set to return to the Prime Minister's Office in a stronger position following the ruling ND Party's landslide victory in the June 25 election, which was overshadowed by problems with financial stability and the cost of living.

“We have set high goals for the transformation of Greece,” Mitsotakis said in his victory speech, promising that “major reforms” would soon be implemented. “I will not tolerate any arrogance,” he added.

With nearly 96% of the votes counted, Mitsotakis's ND party had won more than 40% of the vote, or about 158 seats in Greece's 300-seat parliament. Meanwhile, the left-wing Syriza party, the main opposition party, had won just over 17% of the vote.

A total of eight parties, including the centrist PASOK-KINAL and the left-wing KKE, have broken the 3% threshold to enter the next Greek parliament. Smaller fringe parties from the far left to the far right have also made significant gains.

“Mitsotakis was seen by voters as the leader who led Greece out of a severe debt crisis and three international bailouts and back onto a path of growth,” said Nick Malkoutzis, senior political analyst at Macropolis.

This is the second general election in Greece in five weeks, after the ND Party won in May but failed to gain an absolute majority to form a government.

World - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wins big in second election — New Democracy (ND) Party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during a pre-election rally, at Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece, June 23, 2023. Photo: EFE

Mitsotakis, who has steered Greece through the Covid-19 pandemic and Europe’s energy crisis, has positioned himself as a “safe pair of hands” in terms of boosting growth in difficult global circumstances. His government has engineered a remarkable turnaround in the economy, which is now on track to return to investment-grade status in global markets for the first time since losing market access in 2010.

The NDP's re-election bid focuses on measures to shore up Greece's economic recovery, promising 3% annual growth, tax cuts and curbing unemployment.

“We didn’t achieve a growth recovery in 2019, but now we are one of the best performing economies in the eurozone,” Mitsotakis recently told CNN.

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (2015-2019) – who struggled to deliver on promises of economic recovery while in office – and his left-wing Syriza party, failed to convince voters.

Greece’s second election comes just days after a horrific shipwreck off the coast of Greece. At least 82 people died and hundreds more are missing after an overcrowded boat capsized and sank off the coast of Pylos.

The Greek government has faced criticism for its handling of the rescue operation, but the migrant tragedy did not significantly affect the overall outcome of the election as Greeks were more focused on domestic economic issues.

Mr. Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard graduate, comes from one of Greece's most prominent political families: His late father Constantine Mitsotakis served as prime minister in the 1990s, his sister served as foreign minister, and his nephew is mayor of Athens .

Minh Duc (According to CNN, Al Jazeera)

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