Greek centre-right eyes absolute majority in second election round

The Greek centre-right New Democracy party is expected to win an absolute majority in the second round of the national elections on Sunday, with the main leftist opposition insisting that voters should avoid having an uncontrollable government with “superpowers”.

According to Europe Elects average of polls, New Democracy (EPP) is expected to get 42.8% of the vote, followed by leftist Syriza (19%) and socialists with 11.7%.

Estimates suggest that if polls come true, New Democracy will be able to get an absolute majority and form a single-party government considering the additional bonus seats it will receive according to the electoral law.

Shocked Greek left picks up its pieces after election disaster

The main opposition leftist Syriza party (EU Left) is in a deep crisis after the conservative New Democracy party (EPP) triumphed in the Sunday elections and is now on track to form a single-party government.

All polls failed to project the …

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on his colleagues to show restraint before the vote and keep a low profile.

“Obviously, I’m watching the polls and I have to prepare for that eventuality and I’m very optimistic, but I will continue to insist on the need to keep the tone low until the election results”, he said.

According to Greek press reports, Mitsotakis is expected to make major changes in the governance model with ministry mergers and new people on the frontline.

The centre-right leader wants to create a new “Family and Social Cohesion” ministry. At the EU level, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni established the “Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities” ministry when she took power in Rome.

At the economic level, Mitsotakis’s priority is to get rid of the “junk status” investment grade, and a main key challenge will be the return to EU fiscal rules amid soaring inflation.

On the other hand, the opposition’s main aim is to get as higher a percentage as possible to “look Mitsotakis in the eyes”, opposition leader Alexis Tsipras recently said.

“It is not a question of party expediency, but a question of social stability and democratic regularity”, Tsipras said at his last public speech before the elections on Thursday.

Tsipras accuses the centre-right party of spreading lies regarding its pre-election promises to increase wages.

Particularly, Syriza says the government has not notified the European Commission about these “promises” in its Medium-Term Budgetary Objectives (MTOs), something that Theodoros Skylakakis, an influential New Democracy lawmaker, partly admitted.

If Syriza scores less than the first round in May, estimates suggest there will be developments, and Tsipras’ future in the party is at stake.

Others warn that Tsipras is the man who took Syriza from 4% and brought it to power and that without him, the left will enter a decline era.

(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)