NYT analysis explains how ‘underestimated’ Mitsotakis was swept to power

As the son of a former conservative prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis could hardly be called a political outsider, yet despite the fact that the scion of one of Greece's three political dynasties was personally hugely underestimated he managed to methodically transform conservative New Democracy into a credible modern liberal political party and bring it power, according to a lengthy political analysis by the New York Times entitled "Greece liked to underestimate Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Now he's Prime Minister".

"His ascent to become Greece's prime minister is a testament to his tenacity, and to the radical shifts the country's political system has undergone amid a decade of extreme financial hardship and the ensuing recasting of political alliances," writes NYT correspondent Matina Stevis-Gridneff.

A rare, sweeping centre-right victory for Europe

"It is also a striking resurgence for a mainstream political party at a time when European center-right parties are struggling to win elections convincingly and form governments without coalition partners," the article states.

"He says that his last name helped him with his first election as a member of Greece's Parliament, but that, if anything, it has increasingly been a burden. 'I don't see people voting for me for coming from a political family. I see people voting for me despite me coming from a political family,' " the NYT quoted him as saying in a recent interview.

The analysis stresses the challenges Mitsotakis has and will face in aligning old-style conservative ND with his modern, liberal agenda.

"Mr. Mitsotakis originally faced significant internal opposition to becoming New Democracy's leader three-and-a-half years ago. As someone who supports...