Greece PM eyes new polls for absolute majority after conservative win

NEWS WIRES

21 May 2023 at 2:40 pm·1-min read

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his conservative party unleashed a "political earthquake" with a thumping win at Sunday's election, as he hinted that he would seek a new ballot to obtain an absolute majority enabling it to govern alone.

With just over 82 percent of the ballot counted, his New Democracy party was credited with 40.8 percent of the votes -- a 20-point lead ahead of his nearest rival, leftist challenger Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party, which garnered 20.1 percent.

Despite the clear win, the conservatives were short of a few seats for an outright majority, meaning that Mitsotakis had the choice of seeking a coalition or a new ballot for a decisive result.

The 55-year-old made clear his preference.

"The citizens want a strong government with a four-year horizon," he said.

"Today's political earthquake calls on all of us to speed up the process for a definitive government solution," he added.

His rival Tsipras also set the stage for a new vote, saying "the electoral cycle is not over yet.

The next battle, he said, will be "critical and final".

Economic stability

With a post-Covid tourism revival lifting the country's growth to 5.9 percent in 2022, Mitsotakis has campaigned on a pledge to build on the economic gains.

'We have a future'

(AFP)