The Greek government announces parliamentary elections for May 21

Head of government Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced that he the next parliamentary elections will be held on May 21in which his party, New Democracy, will strive to remain in power despite the introduction of a new electoral system which initially complicates obtaining a clear majority.

Mitsotakis confirmed the date during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, stressing that “the country and its citizens need clear horizons.” The executive power thus concludes the legislative power, since there is room to complete the renovation of the Parliament by the month of July.

Greece will launch a pure system of proportional representation which favors the creation of coalitions, and the prime minister warned of the risk that there will be no clear winner in the first round. According to Mitsotakis, the vote on May 21 will serve to decide “who rules”implying that he would have the right to repeat the government if his party has the most votes.

If a government cannot be formed after this first vote, Greeks will be called to the polls again, in other elections in which the semi-proportional system will be applied promoted by the current authorities. According to Mitsotakis, in this second appointment – ​​“at the latest beginning of July“-, it will be determined “how the winning party rules”.

The new democracy starts as the favorite in the polls, but the opposition, led by former prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ SYRIZA, has narrowed the gap after the latest social mobilizations, sparked largely by a train crash on February 28 that resulted in 57 deaths, according to local media.

The conservative leader defended that “Greece is a much better place in 2023 than it was in 2019,” when New Democracy took power. Therefore, despite the fact that “mistakes could be made”, Mitsotakis asked citizens to renew their trust in the current executive in order to continue “changing” the country.