Date: June 26, 2023
In a resounding victory, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of Greece’s conservative New Democracy party, has won the national elections and secured a second four-year term as the Prime Minister of Greece. Mitsotakis, at 55 years old, has promised to implement significant reforms to bring about transformative changes in the country.
The election results saw Mitsotakis defeat Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist Syriza party and former premier. The margin of victory for the conservatives is the widest in nearly half a century, with voters rewarding them for steering Greece through a challenging debt crisis and nursing the country back to economic health.
Expressing gratitude for the people’s support, Mitsotakis said, “The people have given us a safe majority. Major reforms will proceed rapidly.” With his background as a former consultant at McKinsey and a graduate of Harvard University, Mitsotakis outlined ambitious goals for his new term, aiming to bring about a transformative era for Greece.
During his victory speech, Mitsotakis emphasized, “We have high targets that will transform Greece. Today we will celebrate our victory, tomorrow we will roll up our sleeves.” The Prime Minister led Greece through the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and successfully guided the nation back to two consecutive years of robust economic growth.
Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party secured over 40 percent of the vote, resulting in at least 158 seats in the 300-seat parliament, with 96 percent of the votes counted. The main leftist opposition party, Syriza, lagged far behind in the early results, receiving just over 17 percent of the vote.
Despite falling short of the required five parliamentary seats needed to form a single-party government, Mitsotakis opted against forming a coalition, effectively compelling Greek voters to return to the ballot boxes.
The election also marked a turning point, as voters rejected two key figures who played significant roles during the debt crisis. Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and his radical-left MeRA25 party failed to cross the three percent threshold required for parliamentary representation. Additionally, Tsipras’s party experienced a decline in support compared to the May elections, losing an additional 275,000 votes.
With a renewed mandate, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is poised to tackle the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead for Greece. As he embarks on his second term, the country eagerly anticipates the implementation of the promised reforms that have the potential to transform Greece and secure a prosperous future for its citizens.