European Parliament elections: What’s at stake for Greek politics?

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – The European Parliament elections are likely to hand Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis another boost as the country’s political left remains highly fragmented, according to Greek political analyst.

With polling in Greece set for June 9, Mitsotakis’ ruling New Democracy (ND) party is expected to emerge victorious with somewhere between 32-34% of the vote, Nikos Malkoutzis, co-founder of the Athens-based MacroPolis website, told Anadolu.

The main opposition leftist Syriza and social democratic PASOK will follow with 15-16% and 12-14%, respectively, he said, emphasizing that their performance could prove decisive for the future of the Greek left.

“If PASOK were to finish ahead of Syriza, contrary to what opinions polls suggest, it would raise very serious questions about the future of Syriza and Stefanos Kasselakis as its leader,” he said.

The far-right Greek Solution is most likely to come in fourth, according to Malkoutzis, with one particular reason being the more religious electorate’s frustration with the marriage equality act recently introduced by the ND.

- Momentum for Mitsotakis

For Mitsotakis, these elections represent a chance to “keep up the momentum that his party had in last year’s national elections, where they won very easily,” said Malkoutzis.

The government has faced several challenges since then, including climate disasters, the Tempi train crash, the wiretapping scandal and the cost-of-living crisis, so this win will give Mitsotakis a chance to show that he still has the people on his side, the analyst added.

The Greek premier also wants to consolidate his position within the European People’s Party (EPP) and European politics in general, he said.

“ND is, if not the strongest or most successful in terms of its national elections, certainly one of them. This has given Mitsotakis extra weight within the EPP,” said Malkoutzis.

ND would be aiming to have at least eight or nine people among the 21 lawmakers Greece will send to Brussels, he said.

“Mitsotakis wants to maintain a successful and strong party in national terms, but also one that deserves to be heard within the European context,” he added.

Malkoutzis said the Greek premier has managed to revive the ND with his pragmatic approach to politics, an idea “he calls … triangulation.”

“What he wants to do is to not govern as a traditional conservative, but to adopt positions that are sometimes to the left of his more liberal opponents, and sometimes even towards the right … to keep the right-wing audience happy,” he explained.

“In this way, he believes he is presenting himself as a leader who is above the traditional conservative political and social values that ND represents, and who is able to move both to the left and to the right.”

- Greek left is ‘fragmented’

These elections will also “confirm that the left and center-left space in Greece is, not in a good way, fragmented, and cannot find any basis for cooperation,” according to Malkoutzis.

Parties like Syriza, PASOK and the New Left can realistically challenge the government if they agree on some form of cooperation, he said.

However, he believes Syriza leader Kasselakis remains a major obstacle in any such endeavor.

“He is not from a political background. He doesn’t seem to have a very clear ideology,” Malkoutzis said.

“He doesn’t have a feeling for Greek politics, and that means that, first of all, there was a split in his party, which led to the formation of the New Left. It also means that PASOK does not trust him.”

Another reason is Kasselakis’ own political ambitions, he added.

“As the party’s new leader, he will want to prove himself and lead the party to the 2027 elections. As such, there will be no basis over the next three years for these parties to talk or to come together,” said the analyst.​​​​​​​