Kyriakos Mitsotakis Wins Majority Vote in Greece Snap Polls

Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: @neademokratia

Greece’s incoming prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis representing the center-right New Democracy (ND) party will be sworn in today at 1 by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos after clinching a majority 39.8 percent of the public vote in Sunday’s national elections.

ND party is expected to hold 158 seats in Greece’s 300-seat parliament. Opposition Syriza will hold 86 seats; the Kinal Movement of Change headed by Fofi Genimmata – 22 seats; 15 for communist party KKE; 10 seats for rightist Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution); and nine seats for MERA25 headed by former Syriza finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Mitsotakis is expected to announce his cabinet later today after the official takeover ceremony from outgoing PM Alexis Tsipras, with the first cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Alexis Tsipras: Photo source: @tsipras_eu

“The citizens have made their choice. We fully respect the popular vote,” said Tsipras on Sunday night after getting 31.5 percent of the vote. Tsipras called snap elections after suffering defeat in European Parliament elections last month. Syriza came to power in 2015 by majority vote.

Approximately half (57 percent) of all voters turned up to vote on Sunday,  one of the lowest figures in recent history.

After clinching the majority vote, 51-year-old Mitsotakis pledged to be the “prime minister of all the Greeks”, and reassured that he will work hard to convince all those voters that did not support him.

“I requested a strong mandate and you gave it to me generously,” he told a large crowd in Athens on Sunday night. “I will not betray your hopes. A tough battle begins today … I take on the governance of the country fully aware of the national responsibility,” Mitsotakis said, adding that parliament would be working all summer because “the future cannot wait”.

The final results will be presented by Parliament President Nikos Voutsis later today.

New Cabinet

Olga Kefalogianni

According to media reports, Mitsotakis cabinet is expected to include Olga Kefalogianni as tourism minister – a position she previously held; Michalis Chrysochoidis at the helm of the citizen protection ministry; Kyriakos Pierrakakis at the ministry of state responsible for digital transformation; Takis Theodorikakos at the interior ministry; Nikos Dendias at the foreign affairs ministry; Adonis Georgiadis at the newly named investments ministry (former economy ministry); Kostis Chatzidakis at the energy ministry; Niki Kerameos at the education ministry; and Yiannis Vroutsis at the labor ministry.

Greek parliament will resume on July 17 to elect a new body, discuss the government’s policy plans, and move ahead with the vote of confidence.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: @neademokratia

Mitsotakis hails from a long-standing political family. He is the son of late prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis, his sister Dora Bakoyannis served as Athens mayor and foreign minister, and his nephew Kostas Bakoyannis was elected by majority vote as Athens Mayor last month.

Harvard-educated, Mitsotakis has pledged to foster a friendlier business environment, reduce taxes, and do away with Greece’s notorious red tape

Expected to be tabled immediately are bills covering the structure and operation of the government, abolition of a long-held university asylum law, local governance and taxation.

In the meantime, Greece’s economy tops the agenda of today’s Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers in Brussels.