Parliamentary elections in Greece: main candidates and forecasts

Tomorrow Greek citizens will go to the polls. Many have already made their choice, while others are still considering. Who are the main candidates, and what do the preliminary polls show?

Experts predict that a winner is unlikely to be revealed on May 21, although this option is not ruled out. 9.8 million people, including 440,000 first-time voters, are registered in the voter registers and ready to cast their vote. For the first time this year, Greeks living abroad will also be able to vote remotely without having to travel.

Well, now, in order to make your choice, we suggest remembering what the main participating parties are and what the polls show.

Main parties

Ruling Conservative Party “New Democracy” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has a majority in the Greek parliament, holding 158 seats out of 300. In the election program, the prime minister promises to continue the course of tax cuts, achieve economic growth of 3% per year, increase foreign direct investment and reduce unemployment by at least 8 %.

During his first term in office, Mitsotakis focused on security issues: a beefed up police force and large arms shipments, mostly from France. Immigration has become one of the key areas. Mitsotakis expanded the metal wall along the border with Turkey due to the “migration threat”. In 2019, New Democracy ousted the left-wing Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

“Syriza” advocates for higher wages and pensions, limiting profits in the energy sector, reducing working hours, protecting the rights of minorities, and abolishing the Greek HFSF Bank Rescue Fund.

The third largest party in Greece in 2019 was the centre-left “Pasok-KINAL” (Movement for Change) Nikos Andrulakisai, she won 22 parliamentary seats in the elections. The party advocates a “green” transition from coal and natural gas, strengthening the national health care system, raising wages in the public sector, increasing transparency and meritocracy in the state.

What polls show

Judging by the results of the polls, “New Democracy” is ahead of “Syriza” by about 7% points. On the third place “Pasok-KINAL”.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras demanded from New Democracy and the Association of Surveying Companies information transparency and the publication of primary data from public opinion surveys. After his request was rejected, the politician urged voters to “ignore the polls.”

Mitsotakis rating drop

Part of the Greek population blames Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the worst train accident in the history of the country, which killed 57 people. The government admitted that it had neglected the rail sector for years. After the accident, mass protests broke out in the country, aimed not only at the current government, but also at the entire political system of Greece as a whole. Last Tuesday, relatives of the victims filed a lawsuit against 17 people, including Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, former and current transport ministers, and former and current presidents and directors of the Hellenic Railway Company.

Given what happened, some experts predict a drop in Mitsotakis’s rating, notes euronews.

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