Greece entering pre-election period

Greece appears to be well and truly entering a protracted pre-election period, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asserting during a tour of the Athens suburb of Kallithea at the weekend that the “climate already smells of elections.” 

Mitsotakis had not used such phraseology even when speculation was rampant that elections were just around the corner. However, the prime minister’s phrase simply confirmed that the political system has entered an election period and that once the New Year has passed, Greece will essentially be in a full election period, since the polls will be held in four months at the latest.

For their part, government as well as ruling conservative party sources have emphatically denied that there is a possibility of surprise elections early next year in January.

“It is not only a strategic mistake,” one source pointed out to Kathimerini, but “it cannot be done technically.” “Not all the ballots have been closed and no one will agree to be a candidate in an election that will take place 60 days from now,” the same source said. 

As Kathimerini reported on Sunday, the most likely scenario at the moment is that the elections will be held in early April and the second elections, if they are deemed necessary, will be held immediately after Easter, in early May.

The rationale is that, on the one hand, as Mitsotakis has always said, the elections will be held at the end of the government’s term of office, and on the other hand, winter and the difficulties expected due to the energy crisis will be behind it.

Mitsotakis for his part was brimming with confidence during his speech at the Greek Investment Conference organized by the Athens Stock Exchange and Morgan Stanley.

“We are now entering the final stretch for the 2023 elections, which will once again bring New Democracy first. Will we continue to move forward and upward or go back to a past we have forgotten?” he asked, stressing that the the country needs a government with two “full terms” to turn the page and move up a level.

“The comparison is clear,” he said, “four years of Tsipras and SYRIZA, four years of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and New Democracy. We have our own path with our actions, they have their own path,” he stressed.

​​​​​​In another clear indication that Greece is entering a per-election period, Mitsotakis also appeared on a lunchtime entertainment show on Saturday.