Political parties

With nearly all votes counted in Greece's general election, ruling New Democracy was on course for a resounding lead of nearly 21% early Monday morning.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose conservative party won a landslide election victory Sunday but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government, indicated he will seek a second election hoping to consolidate his victory without the need for a coalition partner.

At New Democracy HQ, satisfaction over the wider than expected winning margin was evident.

Party officials told Kathimerini that a 4-year effort was vindicated as was the way New Democracy conducted its election campaign.

An early, instant analysis can point to three factors that led to New Democracy's historic win.

The opposition Nation Alliance has said that it sees the upcoming presidential election runoff as a "referendum," making calls on people to vote for democracy.

The BSP plenum confirmed the decision of the Executive Bureau and the parliamentary group of the BSP coalition for Bulgaria to end the negotiations with GERB-SDS to form a government with the first mandate. BSP leader Kornelia Ninova summarized the decisions:

As election day has finally arrived after a very long campaign period, it is worth taking an objective look at the facts, as well as the aims and expectations of the three main protagonists, while getting a glimpse on what is happening with respect to the smaller parties in the ideological spectrum.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis deserves a second term in office, with one big qualification. It would be best for Greece if he has to rely on a coalition with PASOK. This is the only realistic hope of getting to the bottom of the Predator spyware affair, which has tarnished the country's democracy.

Two opinion polls published just hours before an election silence kicks in put New Democracy ahead of main opposition SYRIZA by 6.5 and 5 percentage points, respectively.

A Pulse poll for SKAI gave New Democracy a 6.5-point lead over SYRIZA while an MRB poll for OPEN TV put conservatives 5 points ahead.

BELGRADE  - In response to an opposition leader, Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said in the parliament on Friday there would be no caretaker government or violent shutdowns of media outlets.

Waiting for Spring

A couple walks under a poster of the Turkish presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the day after the general election, in Ankara, Turkey, 15 May 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA