Conservative Mitsotakis expected to win Greek general election
GuardianJul 03, 2023
The Facts
Greece's reformist Prime Kyriakos Mitsotakis secured a second four-year term on Sunday after his conservative New Democracy (ND) party won a landslide in repeat parliamentary elections.
With most votes counted, the center-right party won just over 40% of the vote, giving it 158 seats in the 300-seat parliament, while Alex Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party received barely 18% of the vote. PASOK came in third with about 12%, followed by the Communist Party with almost 8%.
The Spin
Conservative narrative
The triumph of New Democracy over Syriza shows that Greek voters want to continue the country's economic recovery course, which Prime Minister Mitsotakis successfully initiated during his first term in office. After the country's traumatic financial crisis, Mitsotakis proved that the Greek state apparatus is not reform-resistant, reduced unemployment, lowered taxes, and attracted foreign investment. Voters have good reason to trust that the liberal reformist will continue the Greek success story with a strong electoral mandate behind him.
Left narrative
New Democracy's victory was to be expected given the fragmentation of the left-wing political spectrum. What makes the elections worrisome, however, is the entry of three xenophobic far-right parties into the Greek parliament. While the left will need time to recover, Greece is following the right-wing trend in other Western European countries. Particularly about social policy, social and civil rights, immigration, and perhaps foreign policy, there is every reason to be concerned about the conservative government's future course.
