With the majority of the votes counted, Kyriakos Mitsotakis‘ New Democracy party (ND) received 40.5% of the vote, over 23 points more than Syriza.
After a catastrophic debt crisis and three foreign bailouts, Mitsotakis is credited with effectively restoring stability and prosperity to the Greek economy. He also promised lower taxes and improved public health. 11 days had passed since a catastrophe involving a migrant boat off the coast of Greece that claimed almost 500 lives.
Mitsotakis Congratulates
The campaign’s major goal was to maintain economic stability despite the catastrophe. The outcome on Sunday supported Mitsotakis’ choice to hold an election to create a stable, one-party administration.
The New Democracy party has “high goals” to improve public health care and education in Greece. The election was called by Mitsotakis to build a stable, one-party administration after the party narrowly missed a majority in the 300-seat parliament last month.
- Mitsotakis restored stability, prosperity, lower taxes, and improved public health amid the Greek economic crisis.
- New Democracy aims for improved public health, and education in Greece.
- Left-wing split benefits Mitsotakis; turnout decreases to 53%.
Mitsotakis’ choice was supported by the outcome on Sunday. Nearly 13% of the vote and 34 seats went to the three hard-right parties.
As few parties gain support after their first term in office, Mitsotakis’ triumph over Syriza is unusual in Greek politics. He was also successful in winning over more young voters than his opponent.
The split in the left-wing vote, with the Socialist PASOK projected to receive more than 11% and the Communist KKE to receive roughly 7%, benefited Mitsotakis’ party. From the first vote, turnout decreased by eight points to less than 53%.
The conservative leader gained a reputation as a Teflon-coated leader after successfully averting a slew of disastrous crises in the previous year, including a rail accident and a wiretapping scandal that resulted in the resignation of the intelligence chief and his nephew. Most Greek voters now favor harsher, more conservative measures as a result of the migrant boat crisis.
