Mitsotakis sworn in as Greek PM after landslide election victory
Greece’s center-right leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis was formally sworn in as prime minister Monday after easily winning a second term with a record-high margin over the left-wing opposition, in an election that also ushered new far-right parties into Parliament.
With 99.70% of the vote counted, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party had 40.55% — more than twice the main opposition Syriza’s 17.84%. It was the largest margin of victory seen in half a century and slightly expanded ND’s 20-percentage-point lead in a previous election five weeks before.
Mitsotakis, 55, was sworn in after being formally handed the mandate to govern by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and was due later Monday to name his new cabinet that’s to assume its duties on Tuesday.
“My aim was to secure a stable government with a parliamentary majority. Unfortunately, two elections were needed for that,” he said in a televised meeting with Sakellaropoulou, who as head of state holds a mainly ceremonial role.
“I have committed to implement major, deeply-needed reforms over the next four years, (and) have a strong mandate to do that,” he said.
Held under a new electoral law that boosts the first party, Sunday’s vote gave ND a comfortable majority of 158 seats in the 300-member Parliament, with Syriza getting 48. The May election had failed to provide Mitsotakis with a majority due to the one-off electoral system then in force, which prompted the new vote. Mitsotakis campaigned on a platform of securing economic growth and political stability, cutting taxes and boosting incomes as Greece gradually recovers from a nearly decade-long financial crisis.