Recovering lost ground, keeping the party united

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis continues his efforts to lure back the part of the electorate that voted for New Democracy in 2019 but had become alienated as a result of issues that range from the high cost of living and a perceived inability to listen to the average person, to the wiretapping cases and, lately, the rail tragedy at Tempe.

The latest polls suggest he is having some success.

The prime minister announced a very significant increase in wages and pensions during his second term if he wins one, along with changes in some policies that have proven unsuccessful and the more forceful implementation of reforms previously promised but not delivered. Finally, he is also eyeing a government with new faces, including more women.

At the same time and in his effort to deal with internal divisions in his governing party, Mitsotakis has invited the two former conservative prime ministers, Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, to the May 9 celebration of Greece’s accession to the then European Economic Community in 1981. Given the high symbolic importance of the event, both accepted the invitation.

In addition to keeping the party united, the other crucial part of the equation of remaining in power is planning on a potential coalition if the ruling conservatives win the second election but come up short of an absolute majority, as seems very likely.

Centrist PASOK remains the preferable choice of most, but given the insistence, until now at least, of its leader Nikos Androulakis that in order to enter into a coalition with ND, Mitsotakis should not be the prime minister – he says the same for the possibility of a coalition with SYRIZA and Tsipras not being the PM – all options are being examined.

In that context some are eyeing the possibility of a coalition with far-right Greek Solution, an anathema to many in the liberal wing of New Democracy, as well as to some Western capitals who are nervous because of the alleged Russian influence on Greek Solution.

Another possibility, in case New Democracy wins but falls short just a handful of seats, is to try to lure individual members of Greek Solution. Although officially the party has denied such a possibility is on the table, observers do not dismiss it outright.

The pursuit of power often leads to moves that seemed unthinkable before. SYRIZA acted in a similar way when it teamed up with the anti-moratorium right-wing Independent Greeks to form the previous government.