Elections were held in Greece at the end of May. Since no party has achieved an absolute majority, new elections are due today. There is little doubt as to who will win the race.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis comes onto the stage confident of victory. At the Constitution Square in the middle of Athens – in front of him the parliament building. There, where he wants to achieve an absolute majority with his conservative New Dimokratia on Sunday.
He calls on all Greeks to vote and alludes to the currently hot summer temperatures in Greece by saying: He invites everyone to unleash an election heatwave for one day that extends into the “40s”.
In the elections at the end of May, Mitsotakis surprisingly got almost 41 percent of the votes. Unexpectedly far behind was the left Syriza of ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. So there is little doubt about Mitsotaki’s victory.
Absolute majority possible thanks to bonus seats
The fact that there are now new elections has to do with a special feature of the electoral system. After the first election, New Democracy would have needed a coalition partner. Now, in the second election, a different electoral law applies that has been used in Greece for decades – and that Mitsotakis himself reintroduced.
The winner is entitled to bonus seats in Parliament. Mitsotakis would be enough about 37 percent to continue to govern alone. The latest polls see New Democracy on the rise, now at around 43 percent.
Syriza hopes for a miracle
The strongest chasing party, Syriza, still wants to believe in a chance and reverse the situation. According to ex-Prime Minister Tsipras, you have to fight until the last minute to achieve a successful result. Nothing has been decided until the ballot boxes close on Sunday evening.
But in the May election, Syriza only got 20 percent. In recent polls, the party slipped even further. In the current election campaign, Tsipras is trying again with social promises such as higher salaries and pensions. He also wants to reduce VAT on groceries and petrol to relieve the burden on citizens.
PASOK wants the strongest again opposition force become
Nikos Androulakis from the social democratic PASOK made similar promises. He also wants to ensure more social housing, especially for young people. And he is the only one who makes the expansion of renewable energies a topic in his campaign speeches. He sees his party on the up again after years of collapse and slump.
The self-declared goal: to become the strongest opposition force again. Androulakis said it was time for Pasok to be back in the forefront against the indifference and nepotism in the state that was gambling away its future. An allusion to a major wiretapping scandal that has shaken the country in recent years. The clues lead to Mitsotaki’s office.
Refugees as a campaign issue
An allusion to the serious refugee accident in the Mediterranean ten days ago, which probably killed hundreds. The question: did the help from the Greek Coast Guard come too late? Mitsotakis says: You shouldn’t always point to the coast guard. The “miserable smugglers” are to blame. Tsipras, on the other hand, calls for “humanity instead of barbarism”.