Pro-reform Mitsotakis wins second term in Greek election that sees surge by small far-right parties
Greece’s center-right leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to be sworn in as prime minister for a second consecutive term
Pro-reform Mitsotakis wins second term in Greek election that sees surge by small far-right parties
Show all 21Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Greece's center-right leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to be sworn in as prime minister on Monday, hours after easily winning a second term with a record-high margin over the leftwing opposition in an election that also ushered new far-right parties into Parliament.
With 99.67% of the vote counted, Mitsotakis' New Democracy party had 40.55% of the vote — more than twice the main opposition Syriza's 17.84%. It was the largest margin of victory in half a century, and slightly expanded ND's 20-percentage-point lead in previous election five weeks before.
Held under a new electoral law that boosts the first party, Sunday's vote gives ND a comfortable majority of 158 seats in the 300-member Parliament, with Syriza getting 48. Center-left PASOK elected 32 lawmakers and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party 20.
The remaining 42 seats will be shared between three far-right parties — including one endorsed by a jailed former leader of the defunct, Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party — and one representing the far-left.
Voter turnout was just under 53%, compared to just over 61% in the May vote.
Mitsotakis, 55, campaigned on a platform of securing economic growth and political stability as Greece gradually recovers from a nearly decade-long financial crisis.
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou is set to formally hand him the mandate to form a government on Monday, after which he will be sworn in and announce his new Cabinet.
His main rival, 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, served as prime minister from 2015 to 2019 during some of the most turbulent years of Greece’s financial crisis.
Despite Syriza's dismal performance, Tsipras has shown no inclination to resign, and there have been no open calls from within his party for him to do so. After Sunday's result, Tsipras said Syriza would move on to focus on next year's European parliamentary elections.
Mitsotakis, a Harvard graduate, comes from one of Greece’s most prominent political families. His late father, Constantine Mitsotakis, served as prime minister in the 1990s, his sister served as foreign minister and his nephew is the current mayor of Athens. The younger Mitsotakis has vowed to rebrand Greece as a pro-business and fiscally responsible eurozone member.
The strategy, so far, has worked. New Democracy won in all but one of the country's 59 electoral regions, capturing traditional Socialist and leftwing strongholds, some for the first time.
Despite scandals that hit the Mitsotakis government late in its term, including revelations of wiretapping targeting senior politicians and journalists and a deadly Feb. 28 train crash that exposed poor safety measures in public transport, voters appeared happy to return to power a prime minister who delivered economic growth and lowered unemployment.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.