In this week’s special supplement, we are offering a take on the results of the Greek national election. Enjoy the read and stay tuned for the coverage of the Round 2 of the Turkish election coming 28 May

Another week of elections – Greece’s shocking result

This past weekend, Europe has witnessed another election, this time around in Greece.   Despite all predictions, Greek elections’ unexpected results means more than we think.

New Democracy, the center-right, EPP-affiliated party, won the national elections with almost 41% of votes. Against all predictions, SYRIZA, the populist radical-left party, came second, earning 20% of vote. It’s the first time since 1974 that the leading party had a 20% gap.

Considering that the conservative leader and current prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, faced several internal scandals, including a train crash with 56 passengers, mostly university students, lost their lives, as well as the spy gate, it would be expected to lose the country’s trust. But, as it seems, that is not the case.

This time around, Greeks showed that what the value the most now is economic and political stability, enhanced with external affairs confidence and strength, rather than empty words… What is most, the Greek people decided to get rid of the toxic left for good. Alexis Tsipras, leader of SYRIZA and Former Prime Minister of Greece, admitted the result was terrible for his party.

Third arrived the S&D-affiliated party, PASOK, which scored 11.6%. The once leading party managed to double its percentage from the 2019 elections, aiming high to regain its legacy. Lead by Nikos Androulakis, former MEP, PASOK is predicted to bring the same result with SYRIZA in the next elections that are expected at the end of June.

Finally, it is important to mention Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister of Finance during SYRIZA’s first semester and  a Grexit supporter, who eventually did not manage to enter the parliament.

As we mentioned before, this is not only a win for the center-right but a complete landscape change for the entire Union.

The first analysis suggests SYRIZA has lost around 700,000 voters since the 2019 elections. These voters seem to have shifted their support to other left-wing parties, from the socialist PASOK, to DIEM25, Varoufakis’s party, to the communist of KKE (which scored almost 7%). Tsipras has always been the Wunderkind of the European Left, with many leaders, from the Italian M5S’s leader Giuseppe Conte to the Spanish Podemos leader Belarra, looking at Tsipras’s leadership as the golden boy who could move Europe to the left.

The second round is expected around the end of June, since New Democracy is missing 5 MPs to obtain a full majority. As history teaches us, MPs change colors after elections (look at Italy, for example). Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to be Greek’s Prime Minister for the next four years, the unknown X factor is opposition. The night is still young!

But after the Italian local elections last week and this week’s Greece elections, we can say that the momentum of far-left parties in Europe has ended. Will they be able to find themselves by the end of the year? Or will they be relegated to not having any power in Europe with the European Parliament elections coming soon?