Mitsotakis, leader of Greece’s center-right New Democracy party, has won a second four-year term as prime minister.
Mitsotakis is now set to make a historic return to the prime minister’s office in Athens in a stronger position after his party’s resounding victory in Sunday’s elections, which were dominated by financial stability and cost-of-living issues.
Reacting to his victory “We have high targets that will transform Greece,” a triumphant and happy Mitsotakis said in his victory speech, promising that “major reforms and policies ” would soon be underway.
“I will not tolerate any arrogance,” he added.
With nearly 100% of the vote counted, New Democracy had garnered over 40% of the vote. Its main opposition, the leftist party Syriza trailed far behind in the preliminary results with over 17%.
A total of eight parties, including centrist PASOK-KINAL and leftist KKE, have crossed the 3% threshold to enter the Greek parliament. Smaller fringe parties ranging from the far left to the far right have also made the cut.
Despite the victory New Democracy has faced a wiretapping scandal, growing concerns over the rule of law, and public outcry in the aftermath of the country’s worst-ever train crash that left at least 57 people dead. But these only temporarily rocked New Democracy’s public approval ratings.
Also, a series of Greek governments have been criticized by international bodies for their handling of migration policy. Conditions in Greek migrant camps have been decried by human rights organizations, particularly following the 2015 refugee crisis, when more than 1 million people entered Europe through the country.
