Incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s New Democracy party remains the largest in Greece. The party, which has been in power for four years, cannot be overtaken with 40.1 percent of the vote, according to Greek media. However, a second round of voting may follow.
The left-wing Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras follows in the standings with 20.1 percent. More than 40 percent of the votes have been counted.
Mitsotakis had hoped to regain an absolute majority. That would give the opportunity to govern without a coalition partner. The prime minister now has nine days to form a coalition. If that fails, a second round of voting will follow in July.
The 55-year-old Mitsokatis likes that. He made clear his preference for a new round of voting. “The citizens want a strong government with a four-year horizon,” he said. “Today’s political earthquake calls on all of us to accelerate the process for a final government solution.”
His rival Tsipras also likes to see a new round of voting. “The election cycle is not over yet,” he said. “The next fight will be crucial and final.”
The popularity of Mitsotakis is attributed to the economic growth of recent years. But unemployment in Greece is still high, especially among young people.
Tsipras, Mitsotakis’ rival, believes that economic growth is not evenly distributed among the population and therefore regularly criticizes the prime minister’s policies.
Motsotakis survived a vote of no confidence and much criticism
The government has been through turbulent times in the past four years. For example, there was a wiretapping scandal that led to a vote of no confidence against Mitsotakis. He survived the vote on this motion, but that was because his party has a majority in parliament. The opposition also has a lot of criticism of him, partly because of the strict refugee policy.
Mitsotakis faced major protests in February and March. That happened after the train disaster in which 57 people died. Demonstrators blame the government for the lack of maintenance of the railways that allowed the accident to take place. Railway workers went on strike for weeks.
2023-05-21 21:10:36
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