Greek government-debt crisis

Barring any big surprises, Sunday's election race will be a personal triumph for Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Come Monday morning, Greece will be in the unprecedented position of having a new government and no real opposition. SYRIZA is looking at a long period of introspection, with the prospect of dropping back down to the 3% threshold looming large.

Voters return to the polls Sunday for a second general election in five weeks, with the conservative New Democracy front-runners eyeing a landslide win after toppling strongholds dominated by their opponents for decades.

Leader of New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis greets people at a rally in Thessaloniki, Greece, 21 June 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ACHILLEAS CHIRAS

Almost a month ago, Mitsotakis emerged as the big winner of May 21 elections, taking 40.83 per cent of the vote and leaving his main rival, Alexis Tsipras, and the left-wing party SYRIZA far behind on 20.07 per cent.

Following is the political backdrop to Greece's parliamentary election on Sunday. Opinion polls show former Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' New Democracy party winning by a wide margin over the leftist Syriza party, which ruled in 2015-2019 at the peak of the Greek debt crisis.

May election

The most likely outcome of Sunday's election is a victory by New Democracy with a percentage that will allow it to form a government by itself.

SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras met with visiting former US president Barack Obama on Thursday, with whom he discussed political developments.

Former Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservatives appear set to win a repeat election in Greece on Sunday after an inconclusive vote on May 21, putting him back in office.

Migration Reform

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson speaks to the media prior to the European Home Affairs Ministers Council meeting in Luxembourg, 08 June 2023. EPA-EFE/JULIEN WARNAND

On Sunday Greeks will head to the polls for a second time in just over a month. With the election just days away, New Democracy is seeking the crucial 40% threshold that would secure a safe outright majority to form a single-party government. 

A few days remain until the end of the most tiring pre-election period in recent decades, where the main role in the political debate was not played by the programs of the parties but by some statements made by members of New Democracy and SYRIZA.