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Greek incumbent Mitsotakis promises stability ahead of elections

DPA WORLD
Published May 20,2023
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As Greeks prepare to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections on Sunday, conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised voters stability, investment and tax cuts if they return his Nea Dimokratia (ND) party to power.

"What we promised four years ago, we have put into practice," he told thousands of his supporters at his final campaign appearance in Athens on Friday.

Mitsotakis recounted his government's achievements in recent years, including cutting several taxes on business but also for individuals.

Also, pensioners saw their pensions rise for the first time in many years and the minimum wage has also been raised, he said.

All that means investments are rising and 300,000 jobs have been created, Mitsotakis said. Greece's creditworthiness and investment capacity are also increasing, he said.

He also said that efforts to digitize the state and the authorities were simply "revolutionary."

Referring to the leftist opposition party Syriza, Mitsotakis said voters would face a "storm of taxes and levies" if the party came to power and implemented its many plans.

Polling suggests Nea Dimokratia is 7 percentage points ahead of Syriza with around 35%.

However, it is not certain whether Mitsotakis will be able to govern alone again.

In the past, the strongest party was automatically awarded 50 seats in the 300-member parliament after the election, meaning Greece often had single-party governments.

During his term in office, Alexis Tsipras enforced simple proportional representation, which applies to this election.

That means a second ballot is highly probable, as no one is likely to achieve an absolute majority.