There was a festering scandal about wiretapping Opposition politicians, military figures and journalists that put the Greek government under pressure; 57 people were killed in a train crash, in February, which included many students, triggering mass protests, and more than 200 migrants drowned off the coast in a boat tragedy just before the elections. But none of these developments dented the public perception about Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the 55-year-old conservative leader whose centre-right New Democracy had a resounding victory in the June 25 parliamentary elections. This was the second election in Greece in less than two months. In May, New Democracy emerged as the single largest party but was short of securing an absolute majority. In the second vote, held under a different electoral system, Mr. Mitsotakis’s party won 40.55% of the votes or 158 seats in the 300-member Parliament, while the main Opposition Syriza secured 18% votes (48 seats). The centre-left PASOK, which once dominated Greek politics, ended up with 12% votes (32 seats), while the newly formed far-right Spartans, which has been endorsed by Ilias Kasidiaris, an imprisoned former leader of the fascist Golden Dawn, made a surprise entry into Parliament with 4.6% of the vote.
Mr. Mitsotakis, who came to power in 2019, ran a campaign focused on his policies aimed at economic recovery, his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis in Europe. Greece’s economic recovery is still an ongoing story. After the depression and acute debt crisis of the 2010s, which pushed the country to the brink of exiting the eurozone, Greece has seen stable growth in recent years (now above the EU average). Investment and exports have improved, thanks to EU funds, and its credit is close to regaining an investment grade credit rating. GDP, despite its high growth rate, is still 20% smaller than in 2008, before the global financial and debt crisis. Mr. Mitsotakis’s biggest achievement and promise was relative economic stability. He blended his message with a hardline immigrant policy that often saw authorities sending asylum seekers back to Turkey (the Greek coast guard was also blamed for not doing enough to avert the boat tragedy), and a tough foreign policy that kept tensions with Turkey in the Aegean Sea high. This conservative nationalism helped him emerge as Greece’s most powerful politician since the economic crisis. Mr. Mitsotakis should now make bold decisions in the economic and social realms. He has to continue the journey of economic recovery and also get back the country’s investment grade credit rating. But he should also take a more humanitarian view of asylum seekers and improve the overall relationship with Turkey to reduce geopolitical tensions.
