Mitsotakis sworn in as Greece’s PM
Athens, The Gulf Observer: Center-right leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis was formally sworn in as Greece’s prime minister Monday after easily winning a second term with a record-high margin but also facing a Parliament that includes lawmakers from more parties, including three small ones on the far right.
With 99.7% of the vote counted, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party had 40.55% — more than twice the 17.84% garnered by left-wing opposition party Syriza. It was the largest margin of victory in a Greek election in a half-century.
Mitsotakis, 55, was sworn in after Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou formally gave him the mandate to govern.
“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. ND won in 58 of the country’s 59 electoral regions, capturing traditional left-wing strongholds, some for the first time.
Mitsotakis spoke with Sakellaropoulou about the “surprise” election showings by four marginal parties — three from the far right and one from the far left. Their entry raises the number of political groups represented in Parliament from five to eight.
“I think our democracy is mature enough to handle whatever temporary turbulence (ensues),” 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. An election held five weeks earlier failed to provide Mitsotakis with a majority due to the electoral system then in force, prompting the new vote.
The center-left Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK, elected 32 lawmakers and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party 20.
The remaining 42 seats will be shared between three far-right parties and one representing the far-left.
