The left-wing represented by Syriza fell short in the elections held this Sunday in Greece and barely got 20% of the vote. The New Democracy party, the main center-right party, got twice as many votes.
With 96% of the votes counted, the New Democracy party, led by the country's current prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, won with 40.79% of the votes. The Greek conservative party secured 145 seats, a much higher number than the pre-election polls had estimated. Alexis Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party didn't do nearly as well. It got 20.07% of the vote and 72 seats, far below what the polls had predicted.
Hope overcame pessimism and unity overcame division. I am proud, I am also excited, as I feel very heavy with the responsibility that such an impressive percentage places on my shoulders. I promise to work even harder to honor your trust.
Η ελπίδα νίκησε την απαισιοδοξία και η ενότητα τον διχασμό. Είμαι υπερήφανος, είμαι και συγκινημένος, καθώς αισθάνομαι πολύ βαριά την ευθύνη που εναποθέτει στους ώμους μου ένα τόσο εντυπωσιακό ποσοστό. Δεσμεύομαι ότι θα εργαστώ ακόμα πιο σκληρά για να τιμήσω την εμπιστοσύνη σας. pic.twitter.com/Wz7U1vpPSL
— Kyriakos Mitsotakis (@kmitsotakis) May 21, 2023
Alexis Tsipras described the results as being "extremely negative for Syriza." Tsipras and his left-wing party left Greece in 2015 on the brink of having to leave the Eurozone (the European common economic market).
The Greek socialist party came in third, behind the two main parties. Pasok got 11.52% of the votes and 41 seats. The Greek Communist party KKE won 7.21% of the votes and got 26 seats. Finally, Greek Solution got 4.45% of the votes and 16 seats.
A second election
Despite the victory, Greece's conservative New Democracy party fell short of the percentage needed to win a parliamentary majority of 151 seats out of 300. Greek law gives Kyriakos Mitsotakis three days to negotiate a coalition government with one or more parties, which will be very complicated due to the deep division between the main Greek political parties.
If no agreement is reached, Greece will return to the polls on June 25.
