The EU elections result disappointed all the country’s main parties as Greeks turned their backs on all politicians with a record high abstention rate, according to Euractiv.
The ruling New Democracy Party (EPP) came first with 28.3 per cent. Syriza (Left) and socialist Pasok followed with 14.9% and 12.8% respectively.
The high abstention rate (59.1%), higher than the EU average (48.9%), has caused concern in Athens. Major parties suffered political consequences, as none of them achieved the goal they set before the elections.
New Democracy recorded the worst results in the party’s history, losing more than 1.1 million votes compared to the June 2023 legislative elections, when it gained 41 per cent. Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis set the target for the European elections at 33 per cent, five percentage points higher than the target achieved.
In an effort to mitigate the damage, Mitsotakis is now considering reshuffling his cabinet. However, he rules out the possibility of following Macron’s lead towards early elections. The next national vote is due in 2027.
Several conservative politicians, including the prime minister, attributed the poor EU elections results to the “arrogance” shown by many government officials after receiving 41 per cent of the vote in the last election.
In fact, polls showed that rising prices played a key role in penalising the ruling party in that election. Critics in Athens also suggest that Mitsotakis’ election results weaken his position in Brussels. The prime minister had previously sought to become EPP’s chief negotiator for top EU positions.
However, opposition parties, which collectively scored more points than New Democracy, still did not utilise the ruling party’s defeat. The results raised questions about the need for progressive parties (Syriza, Pasok) to join forces to topple the Greek conservatives in power since 2019.
