Greek elections: who will take the day?
The Greeks will elect a new parliament on May 21. Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ ruling conservative Nea Dimokratia slumped in the polls after the train accident in March, but is still in the lead. In second place is former PM Alexis Tsipras with the left-wing opposition alliance Syriza.
Threat of an autocratic, Orbán-style regime
Mitsotakis must not only lose, he must also face justice, writes the left-leaning Avgi:
“The darkness, the omertà [mafia code of silence], the impunity and the transformation of the Greek Republic into an authoritarian regime à la Orbán will continue if Nea Dimokratia wins so much as one vote on 21 May. Democratic change is imperative. The Mitsotakis government bears the moral and political stigma of illegal surveillance and the rape of democracy by trying to control the independent authorities and the judiciary. The outgoing prime minister himself chose to turn the country into a spy state. ... The acts that are now being denounced must have judicial consequences.”
Syriza light on policy
Protagon has harsh words for Syriza:
“The party has focused its entire opposition strategy on Mitsotakis, but the poll numbers categorically refute its claims. In choosing this line it neglected the rest, especially any form of level-headed programmatic discourse. Tsipras himself is still trying to dance at two weddings. On the one hand he presents himself as a moderate politician who has matured and learned from his mistakes. On the other he retains elements of the old hard-line Syriza. And he’s made another mistake: if you portray the opponent as a demon who is to blame for everything, you chafe away at your own credibility and make your programmatic deficit clear.”
