ATHENS: Greek voters are casting their ballots again on Sunday in an election where conservative front-runner Kyriakos Mitsotakis is seeking a second term and an absolute parliamentary majority to form a “stable government”. Polling stations opened at 7:00 am local time (0400 GMT) for the second round of general elections within five weeks. The first exit polls are expected at 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) when the polls close.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a 55-year-old Harvard graduate, has already achieved a resounding victory in an election just a month ago. However, falling short of five seats in parliament required to form a single-party government, Mitsotakis called for 9.8 million Greek voters to return to the ballot boxes.
In the previous vote, Mitsotakis, hailing from one of Greece’s most influential political families, defeated former leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras by a margin of over 20 percentage points. With election rules this time granting up to 50 bonus seats to the winner, Mitsotakis’s New Democracy party is widely projected to emerge as the victor.
Nevertheless, a potential challenge for Mitsotakis could arise from a higher abstention rate due to the expected outcome. Urging his supporters to participate in the electoral process, he has warned of the possibility of a third election if he fails to secure a majority. In an interview with Skai TV, Mitsotakis emphasized, “I hope we don’t have to meet again in early August,” adding, “this is no joke.” He emphasized the importance of building upon the gains made during his term.
Mitsotakis won a landslide victory in 2019, promising to end Greece’s decade-long economic crisis. At that time, businesses and workers were burdened by heavy taxes imposed by Tsipras’s Syriza party to meet the budget surplus demanded by international creditors. Over the next four years, Mitsotakis eased tax burdens and implemented measures to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a strong economic rebound with growth rates of 8.3 percent in 2021 and 5.9 percent in 2022.
Critics point out that Mitsotakis had more fiscal flexibility under the relaxed pandemic-era rules imposed by the European Union. Nonetheless, Mitsotakis highlights his government’s achievements, including the reduction of 50 taxes, a significant increase in national output by 29 billion euros, and substantial infrastructure upgrades—the most extensive since 1975. These accomplishments resonate with voters fatigued by years of economic instability, job losses, and bankruptcies.
Alexis Tsipras, who has called for wage increases but garnered limited support, warns against giving Mitsotakis a “blank cheque” to dismantle social benefit policies under a “hidden agenda”. However, Tsipras, who almost led Greece out of the euro during his tenure and eventually accepted harsh bailout terms, faces the risk of losing his leadership position in the Syriza party if he experiences a fifth electoral defeat against Mitsotakis. Notably, many young voters, traditionally aligned with the left, shifted their support to the conservatives in the previous election.
For a revival, Fenia Georgiakouda, a 29-year-old voter, believes that the left needs to “listen to the concerns of young people and try to mobilize them with new ways of action and participation.” The outcome of the election will determine the future direction of Greek politics and the leadership of the country.
