When the nominally center-right New Democracy party emerged victorious in snap elections last week, it potentially marked the end of a long and tumultuous chapter in Greece’s history. The now former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had announced the vote following deep losses by his radical, left-wing party, Syriza, in the European Parliament elections in May.
With 39.5 percent of the vote, New Democracy and its leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, have a strong mandate to push forward with a program he describes as reforming the state, by reducing taxation and turbo-charging investment in the country. Mitsotakis appears very optimistic. When challenged on where the money for the costly tax cuts would be found, he responded that his policies would secure strong economic growth of up to 4 percent per year, to cover for the shortfall.
The heir to one of Greece’s biggest political dynasties, which now counts three prime ministers in its ranks as well as a significant number of ministers and MPs, Mitsotakis has immediately set about putting his plan into action, right after he took a religious oath in his induction ceremony—something Tsipras and most Syriza ministers had forgone, opting for a civic one instead.