Prime Minister Mitsotakis is still more popular with voters.
(Photo: Reuters)
Athens The date has long been debated, but now it’s certain: a new parliament will be elected in Greece on May 21st. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the election date on Tuesday in a cabinet meeting broadcast live on television. “The country and the citizens need a clear horizon,” said Mitsotakis. The legislative period normally ends at the beginning of July.
However, it is unlikely that the election will bring clarity. This time Mitsotakis will probably miss the absolute majority with which he has ruled the country for four years. Because the elections are based on a system of proportional representation passed in 2016 under his radical left-wing predecessor Alexis Tsipras, which is now being used for the first time.
According to the constitution, changes to the electoral law in Greece only take effect at the next but one election. While Mitsotakis with his conservative Nea Dimokratia (ND) got 39.8 percent of the votes in 158 of the 300 parliamentary seats in 2019, under the new electoral law a party needs around 48 percent for an absolute majority.
The country is doing well economically
ND is far from that. In the most recent surveys, it is around 30 percent. Nevertheless, Mitsotakis has declared an absolute majority as his election goal and wants to call new elections if no government is formed after the elections on May 21. They could take place “at the latest in early July,” said the prime minister on Tuesday. In the repeat election, an electoral law passed at the beginning of 2020 would apply, which would enable an absolute majority with around 37 percent of the vote.
Mitsotakis drew a positive balance of his first legislative period in the cabinet on Tuesday. “Greece is in much better shape in 2023 than in 2019,” said the Prime Minister. During his reign, 300,000 new jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell by six percentage points.
>> Also read here: General strike paralyzes Greece – Mitsotakis fears for re-election
In fact, the country is doing well economically. According to calculations by the Bloomberg agency, gross domestic product (GDP) in Greece has grown by seven percent since 2019 despite the recession during the pandemic, compared to one percent in Germany. In 2022, economic output increased by 5.9 percent.
Greece is growing faster than Germany
The prospects for 2023 are also good. The Greek central bank recently raised its growth forecast for the current year from 1.5 to 2.2 percent. The government expects 2.3 percent.
However, the upcoming elections and the prospect of months of political uncertainty are a factor of uncertainty. The severe train accident in northern Greece in February, which killed 57 people, is overshadowing the election campaign that is just beginning. The catastrophe revealed appalling abuses at the state railway company OSE.
In addition, a wiretapping scandal damaged the head of government’s reputation. In the most recent polls, the lead of the governing party ND over the left-wing alliance Syriza has halved from around seven to three to four percentage points. With the percentage of votes determined by the pollsters, Mitsotakis would also miss the absolute majority in the repeat election. Difficult coalition negotiations or a third ballot would then be the probable consequence.
More: “More resilient and more cushion” – Athens’ central banker sees no danger for Greek banks