Mitsotakis dares Tsipras to call elections in September

Throwing down the gauntlet to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that if he is so sure that Greece will have a clean exit from its bailout program in August, then he should call elections in September so that the people can be the judge.

“If the coalition partners mean what they say, they should be put to the test. If they see growth, they should try to see what the people think,” he told a meeting of his shadow cabinet on Friday, adding that if the government doesn’t fear New Democracy, then “it should at long last take it on” at the polls.

Citing a long list of grievances, Mitsotakis said the government was “dangerous” and made extensive references to its handling of foreign policy, the two Greek soldiers detained in Turkey and the confusion surrounding the leasing of frigates from France.

Mitsotakis reportedly urged the party to prepare for the possibility of early elections.