Greece prime minister Mitsotakis hails election victory as ‘political earthquake’

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hailed his party’s victory in the parliamentary elections as a “political earthquake” after the conservatives secured a smashing win but fell short of forming a majority.

With most votes counted after the election on Sunday, the ruling New Democracy party has secured a commanding lead with 40.8 per cent of the votes, while the previous governing party, Syriza, trailed far behind with 20.1 per cent for the 300-seat Hellenic Parliament.

However, Mr Mitsokais’s party fell just short of the majority required to form a government on its own, as the fate of the new government still hangs in limbo.

According to projections by Greece's interior ministry, New Democracy is expected to win 145 seats in parliament, which is six seats shy of an absolute majority.

Starting from Monday, Greek president Katerina Sakellaropoulou will give the top three parties - New Democracy, Syriza, and the Socialist PASOK – three days each to attempt to form a coalition government.

If all three parties fail, Ms Sakellaropoulou will appoint a caretaker government to prepare for new elections to be held approximately a month later.

Without Mr Mitsotakis, the numbers for potential coalitions do not add up, as Syriza has 72 seats, PASOK has 41 seats, the Communist KKE party has 26 seats, and the right-wing Hellenic Solution party has 16 seats.

The KKE party has already stated that it will not participate in any alliance, while the Hellenic Solution party has been critical of both New Democracy and Syriza.

Mr Mitsotakis, who served as prime minister and leader of the New Democracy leader, had expressed his desire for a strong one-party government, but he believes that the election results provide a clear mandate.

Addressing supporters outside party headquarters in Athens, Mr Mitsotakis called his party’s victory a “political earthquake”.

"The ballot results are decisive. They show that New Democracy has the approval of the people to rule, strong and autonomous."

This victory for Mr Mitsotakis is quite significant, as his administration faced numerous challenges, including a wiretapping scandal, the Covid-19 pandemic, a cost of living crisis, and a fatal rail crash that sparked public outrage.

However, it comes as a significant setback for Syriza and its leader Alexis Tsipras, who rose to power in 2015 on the wave of public dissatisfaction with other parties' handling of the debt crisis that severely impacted Greece's economy for over a decade.

The MeRA25 movement, led by former Syriza finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, failed to secure any seats in parliament.

Mr Tsipras, who congratulated Mr Mitsotakis on his win, noted that the race is not over and talked about the possibility of a second election.

“Battles have wins, and losses,” he said. “The electoral cycle has not ended yet ... it is very possible there will be a second election.”

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Greece faced the threat of a eurozone exit during the height of its debt crisis in 2015, leading to the country accepting a third bailout under Mr Tsipras' leadership.

Mr Mitsotakis, elected in 2019, focused his campaign on improving the financial conditions of the Greek people, promising to raise wages and pensions that were cut during the crisis.

Panos Koliastasis, an adjunct assistant professor of politics at the University of Peloponnese, attributed Mitsotakis' victory to his emphasis on addressing financial concerns and his clear proposal for an autonomous government.

“He also had a clear proposal of (how) he will be in power - that of an autonomous government,” he said.

“The alternative of Syriza, of a coalition government, wasn’t that realistic because others refused to cooperate.”

The elections in Greece are held every four years to determine the composition of the 300-seat parliament.

Additional reporting by agencies