A scandal involving wiretapping of opposition politicians, military figures and journalists had emerged, putting the Greek government under pressure; A train crash in February killed 57 people, including many students, leading to mass protests, and a boat accident just before the election saw more than 200 migrants drown ashore. But none of these developments mattered Public perception of Kyriakos Mitsotakis55-year-old conservative leader whose centre-right The new democracy won a grand victory In the parliamentary elections of 25 June. This was the second election in Greece in less than two months. In May, New Democracy emerged as the largest party, but fell short of securing an outright majority. In a second vote held under a different electoral system, Mr Mitsotakis’ party won 40.55% of the vote, or 158 seats in the 300-member parliament, while the main opposition Syriza won 18% of the vote (48 seats). The centre-left PASOK, which once dominated Greek politics, finished with 12% of the vote (32 seats), while the newly formed far-right Spartans, backed by the jailed former leader of the fascist Golden Dawn Ilias Kassidiaris, won 4.6%. Made a surprise entry into Parliament with 100% of the vote.
Mr Mitsotakis, who came to power in 2019, ran a campaign focused on his policies aimed at economic recovery, his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis in Europe. Greece’s economic recovery is still an ongoing story. After the 2010 recession and acute debt crisis that pushed the country to the brink of exiting the eurozone, Greece has seen steady growth in recent years (now above the EU average). Investments and exports have improved thanks to EU funds and its creditworthiness is close to achieving an investment grade credit rating. GDP, despite its high growth rate, is still 20% lower than in 2008, before the global financial and debt crisis. Mr. Mitsotakis’ greatest achievement and promise was relative economic stability. He mixed his message with a hardline immigration policy, which often saw officials turn asylum seekers back to Turkey (the Greek coast guard was also blamed for not doing enough to prevent the boat tragedy). , and a tough foreign policy that maintained tensions with Turkey. Aegean Sea high. This conservative nationalism helped him emerge as Greece’s most powerful politician after the economic crisis. Mr. Mitsotakis must now make bold decisions in the economic and social sphere. He has to continue the journey of economic reforms and also get back the investment grade credit rating of the country. But he should also adopt a more humane approach to asylum seekers and improve overall relations with Turkey to reduce geopolitical tensions.