PM decides on May 21 as election date

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced at a cabinet meeting Tuesday that the next election will take place on May 21.

The announcement had been expected; initially, the government was planning on an April date, before the deadly train crash on February 28 upended the plans.

What is almost certain is that the May 21 poll will result in a parliament with no overall majority, thanks to a proportional representation system introduced by the previous, leftist-led SYRIZA government. When it regained power, the ruling center-right New Democracy introduced a new electoral law restoring a seat bonus for the winner, although it limited that to 30 instead of the 50 seats stipulated in the law in force until 2019.

With a coalition government seen as highly unlikely, a second election is expected, in early July. But, with the ruling party seeing its lead over SYRIZA...