Tapping nationalist sentiment
New Democracy is clearly concerned that if the ultranationalist Niki party makes it into the next Parliament, it could gnaw away at the conservatives’ majority, and this concern has prompted an effort to repatriate part of the far-right vote and redefine the party’s agenda.
Party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ first reaction to the unexpectedly good performance of Niki on May 21 was to announce a visit to Mount Athos, though the trip had to be canceled after he tested positive for Covid. Either way, it seems like the intervention of the archbishop and the Holy Synod was deemed more effective in swaying the monks than a visit from the election winner.
Ever since, though, ND seems obsessed with fighting with SYRIZA over the northeastern district of Rodopi and the Turkish consulate there, which is aimed less at the opposition party than it is at flaunting the party’s “patriotic” and, even more importantly, “anti-Turkish” credentials. The visit by former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis to the region and her condescending tone toward the members of the minority can be interpreted in this context. As can the surprise announcement by Mitsotakis of plans to create a “Family Ministry,” which happened to coincide with Athens Pride.
ND seems obsessed with fighting with SYRIZA over the northeastern district of Rodopi and the Turkish consulate there
So, as he reached out to young voters on TikTok, announcing all sorts of progressive messages for LGBT rights, he also addressed a more conservative audience from a morning TV show to explain that he plans to tackle Greece’s demographic problem by introducing a Ministry for the Family.
The title is quite deliberate. It could have been called “Ministry for Equality,” as this will be one of its remits. But no: Invoking the Greek family and low birth rates is a wink to a far-right audience.
Many New Democracy apologists argue that once the party ensures the majority it needs in Parliament to form a single-party government, it will exercise the policy that corresponds to its ideology and shake off any far-right trappings. But it had a comfortable majority during its first term in government. So why didn’t it legalize gay marriage? Why didn’t it draw a clear line in its relationship with the Church? Why did it continue the pushbacks of migrants at the border? Why did it illegally spy on the conversations of its political adversaries? Why did it freeze the ratification of the memorandums included in the Prespes agreement? And why should we believe that it’s going to reverse all of this next time around?
