ND aiming for complete dominance
With the second round of local elections just two days away, ruling New Democracy, which posted a sweeping victory in the first round last week, is looking to add at least four regions to the seven it has already won.
Sunday’s local runoff elections will be for a total of six regions and 85 municipalities across the country, with ND having its sights on the first and the two largest municipalities of the country, Athens and Thessaloniki.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis toured alongside incumbent Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, expressing certainty that “the Athenians will appreciate the work that has been done,” but at the same time will recognize the “courage and self-criticism” displayed by the municipal authority for any mistakes made during its first term.
According to government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, the ultimate goal for ND is a clean sweep over the two rounds, winning 13 out of the 13 regions, along with Athens and Thessaloniki. This will result in the government having received, in less than four months, a fresh vote of confidence, so it can proceed unhindered with the reform work that lies ahead. To achieve this goal, the prime minister has also taken the battle of the second round upon himself.
The government is attaching great importance to regions like the Peloponnese, the North Aegean, Eastern Macedonia-Thrace and Thessaly. But this does not mean ND is not paying attention to the other two regions, the Ionian Islands and Western Macedonia, even though success could be a tall order based on the first-round results.
The first round last week also confirmed the slide of main opposition SYRIZA, while center-left PASOK and communist KKE both posted positive results and will seek to further entrench their gains on Sunday.
