Specter of general elections looms in Greece

By Derya Gulnaz Ozcan

ANKARA (AA) - The specter of general elections is looming in Greece as politicians intensify their endeavors to attract votes.

Visiting the Kalithea neighborhood in the capital Athens on Saturday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “We now are entering the final phase of the elections that will be held in 2023 and will result in a fresh victory for (ruling) Nea Dimoktratia (ND).”

This remark by Mitsotakis, who previously firmly rejected the likelihood of early elections, put the possibility of a snap election before the 2023 summer on the country’s agenda.

In response to the premier’s statement, the main opposition SYRIZA-PS party urged him to call for early elections as soon as possible to “relieve the society.”

Particularly targeting the government’s economic policies, the party asserted that history would remember Mitsotakis as an unsuccessful politician.

Government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou later clarified Mitsotakis by saying that the elections are supposed to be held in 2023.

This is what we always said, he added.

Furthermore, Alternate Interior Minister Stelios Petsas refrained to announce the precise date of elections in 2023 when he was interviewed by ERT public broadcaster.

We are approaching the election year, however, he said, they should now inform citizens about what they did and what they plan to do in their next tenure.

Centrist Ta Nea daily, on the other hand, argued that most of the Cabinet ministers want snap elections in early 2023.

Accordingly, the ministers are of the opinion that the surveillance scandal and skyrocketing living costs are already hampering the government and thus elections should be held without waiting until summer.

One of the possible scenarios is holding snap elections in late January, it said.

According to the public opinion surveys, ND still leads, only to be followed by SYRIZA-PS.

The surveys also reveal that the living cost and declining purchasing power are seen as major problems by most Greeks.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk