Greece’s centre-right wins but with heavy losses

5 months ago 20

Greece’s centre-right ruling New Democracy party (EPP) won the elections but lost more than one million votes compared to the national elections last year, while the opposition could not catch up.

New Democracy scored 27.7%, well below the 33% goal set by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and well down from the 41% he scored in the legislative elections in July 2023, losing almost 1.1 million votes.

Main opposition Syriza party (EU Left) ranked second with 14.9%, followed by socialist Pasok (S&D) with 13.03%, the conservative Greek Solution party (ECR) which scored 9.72% and the communists (9.3%).

Smaller parties also managed to elect one MEP each: conservative Niki, leftist Plefsi Eleftherias as well as the newly established conservative Foni Logikis.

Another element of this election was the all-time high abstention rate, which reached almost 60%. Many analysts in Athens interpreted the abstention as a message to the Greek political establishment.

A progressive front in sight?

The next day finds Greece with a new political landscape. Mitsotakis was dealt a severe electoral blow, while the opposition did not manage to take advantage of it.

Some left-wing politicians already raised the need for progressive parties (Syriza, Pasok) to join forces against New Democracy, considering that together they overtake conservatives.

The big question is who will lead a potential progressive front, as the leaderships of Syriza and Pasok do not see eye to eye.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv)