In Greece’s snap elections, the conservative party “Nea Dimokratia” of the incumbent Prime Minister Mitsotakis emerged as the clear winner, paving the way for his party to rule Greece for the next four years. The largest opposition party garnered only 17.8% of the votes.
Mitsotakis Secures Absolute Majority
Kyriakos Mitsotakis achieved his goal with the snap elections, securing a single-party government. His conservative party “Nea Dimokratia” won 40.6% of the votes, similar to the results of the last election in May. The new electoral system, which grants the winner a large bonus of parliamentary seats, helped them to achieve an absolute majority in parliament, winning 158 of the 300 seats.
Little Confidence in Tsipras
On the other hand, the primary contender, the left-wing Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, continued its decline. In the previous election in May, the party received only 20% of the votes, but this time, they received even fewer votes at 17.8%. While they achieved their minimum goal of becoming the strongest opposition party, Tsipras is losing the trust of citizens. Many people are still disappointed because he made many promises in 2015 that he could not keep due to austerity policies. Many people in the country trust Mitsotakis more to move the country forward economically.
Furthermore, two small parties split from the Syriza party in recent years. Tsipras plans to analyze the reasons behind the election results and is open to personnel changes: “Party members are asked to evaluate us all and to develop a strategy to respond to the difficult situation. It goes without saying that I will submit to the judgment of the party members in this collective rebuilding process.”
Pasok Ranks Third
The socialist Pasok ranks third, as it did in the previous election but barely benefits from Syriza’s weakness, stagnating at 12%. Its goal to become the strongest opposition party with the possibility of competing with “Nea Dimokratia” seems like a long-term goal.
Concerns of the Rise of Right-Wing Parties
The shift to the right of Parliament is a particular concern for party leader Nikos Andoulakis. In a surprising turn, the far-right “Spartans,” the successor to the banned “Golden Dawn,” will enter Parliament, making them one of three far-right parties in Parliament. At the left end, the Communists succeeded in securing seats.
The voter turnout for these snap elections was only 52%, the lowest in years.