Government calibrating response to protests

Four months ahead of the elections for the European Parliament, the government is faced with a wave of protests that sometimes turn violent over a number of issues, such as education reforms, farming and the same-sex marriage legislation.

The European elections will affect domestic politics only to the extent that they will serve as a sort of referendum on the first year of the conservative government’s second four-year term. But government officials are anxious to see the ruling New Democracy’s domination affirmed and not eroded by a disgruntled electorate.

So far, the government has chosen to soft-pedal its response; protests against the planned setup of private universities, and the occupation of public ones, have been met with a relatively mild response, arranging for exams to be conducted online, for example, and sending police to intervene only on occasions university administrations have asked for help.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis immediately promised farmers emergency aid, conceding the rightfulness of their demands. He clearly aims to close that front as quickly as possible. But he has also made it clear that he will only talk to the farmers if they refrain from blocking highways.

Officials say they have analyzed carefully the electorate that propelled New Democracy to two triumphal victories in May and June 2023. The 41% of voters that preferred the conservatives, they say, want reforms and don’t mind seeing eggs broken to make an omelet, as they put it. “The prime minister addresses the public that does not want him to be afraid of conflict,” an official said.

Proponents of a firm stance say that Mitsotakis cannot disappoint his voters to placate minorities that never intended to vote for him, anyway. And while he has lost a considerable chunk of the electorate to his right, Mitsotakis dominates the political center, sometimes to the dismay of some of his own MPs. The reactions to the same-sex marriage bill, which has been vociferously opposed by the hard right, are proof.

The bill will almost certainly pass thanks to the votes of most of the left-wing opposition and it will be one of the key reforms Mitsotakis will tout in the run-up to June’s European election, alongside mail voting, health and education reforms and anti-tax evasion measures.