Socialism in Greece

With the election looming, conservative New Democracy has a 21.7-percentage point lead over main opposition SYRIZA, according to a poll of voter intentions based on expected valid votes conducted by Alco on behalf of Alpha TV and presented on Monday evening.

Tom Ellis, the editor in chief of Kathimerini's English Edition, joins Thanos with the latest analysis from Athens ahead of this second round of elections on June 25th, as we look into the latest polls, the likelihood that Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be able to form a single-party government, and what the opposition will look like as PASOK and SYRIZA battle for dominance of Greece's center left.

The issue of the Turkish consulate's intervention in the Rodopi constituency of Thrace continued to spark tension on Monday with acrimonious exchanges between New Democracy and SYRIZA.

In the May 21 national election, the left-wing main opposition SYRIZA party lost 11.5 points compared to the previous election, in July 2019, and got 20.07% of the vote, far behind ruling New Democracy's 40.79%.

SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras said on Monday that Greece needs to adapt its policies in the direction of climate neutrality to stem the consequences of the climate crisis.

SYRIZA has accused New Democracy of "blatantly underestimating the democratic vote of members of the Muslim minority" in Thrace after New Democracy said that two of SYRIZA's MPs elected in the last election in the northeastern region were exponents of "the most extreme Turkish propaganda."

Following the results of the May 21 polls, where New Democracy party secured a resounding victory, the election period leading up to the second ballot is focusing on the individual parameters of the party programs.

Party staffs, meanwhile, are on the lookout for misstatements, verbal exaggerations or signs of ignorance from their political opponents.

The leader of the leftist SYRIZA party, Alexis Tsipras, along with the party's senior officials, are busy analyzing the reasons behind their landslide defeat in the legislative elections held on May 21. This process of introspection is expected to continue even after the second ballot on June 25.

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras has emphasized the need for his party to overcome the shock of the May 21 elections and rally their fighting spirit as they prepare for the repeat election on June 25.

Konstantinos Tasoulas has been reelected as the speaker of Parliament with 270 votes.

Lawmakers from New Democracy, SYRIZA, PASOK, and Greek Solution voted in favor, while Communist Party (KKE) MPs voted "present."

In a roll call vote with 296 participating MPs, 270 voted "yes" and 26 voted "present."