Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of Greece's conservative New Democracy Party, hailed the recent landslide victory in parliamentary elections as a mandate for reform.
Greek voters gave reformist Mitsotakis another four-year term as the country's prime minister. Official results from almost 90% of voting centers nationwide on Sunday showed that the New Democracy Party had more than 40% of the vote.
Greece's Elections
On the other hand, Mitsotakis' party's rival, the left-wing Syriza Party, suffered a crushing defeat, getting only 18%, which was even worse than its 20% in the last elections that were held in May. The reformist hailed the "strong mandate" following his party's overwhelming win.
He said that the people of Greece had given his party a safe majority, adding that major reforms would rapidly proceed. Mitsotakis' New Democracy Party is projected to win about 157 or 158 of the 300 seats in parliament because of a change in the electoral law that gives the winning party bonus seats, as per Aljazeera.
During the previous election held in May, the New Democracy Party was left five seats short of a majority despite winning 41% of the total vote. The recent results come over a week after a migrant ship capsized and sank off the western coast of Greece.
The incident left hundreds of people dead and missing, and the entire incident brought into question the actions of Greek authorities and the nation's strict migration policy. However, the tragedy, considered one of the worst in the Mediterranean in recent years, did not heavily influence the latest elections as domestic economic issues were at the forefront of voters' minds.
Aljazeera reporter John Psaropoulos, who was in Athens, said that votes in the region were more concerned with the nation's economy. He added that this issue was something that people trusted the New Democracy Party more than Syriza.
New Democracy Party's Victory
Mitsotakis is credited with successfully returning the country's economy to stability and growth after suffering a severe debt crisis and three international bailouts. Furthermore, while many residents are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, voters still supported the New Democracy Party that promised lower taxes and improved public health, according to BBC.
The New Democracy Party leader said he could not promise any miracles but added that his party has "high goals" to improve the country. In a statement, former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras denied allegations that he would resign, saying it was a matter for his party members to decide.
Tsipras was known to have served as Greece's prime minister from 2015 to 2019, considered some of the most turbulent years for the country's nearly decade-long financial crisis. However, his Sunday election performance questions his prospects for a striving political career.
After the May elections, Tsipras struggled to rally his supporters, a task made even more difficult by splinter parties that formed behind some of his former associates, said NPR.
