New Democracy finishes first amidst historic low voter turnout

By Constantine Capsaskis

Newsletter Editor

Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Ruling New Democracy finished first in the European elections with a significant lead from second-placed main opposition party SYRIZA, amidst a historic low voter turnout and the rise of far-right parties.

Specifically, New Democracy finished with approximately 28% of the vote and will elect seven MEPs. This is down from the 41% the party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis won in the 2023 national elections, but also down from the 33% share of the vote the party received in the European elections of 2019.

“Our party did not reach the goal we had set out”, said Mitsotakis following the result, while stating that he respected the decision of voters to use the ballot as a protest. “Whether this was expressed through an unprecedented abstention, something that may make reaching conclusions harder, or choosing smaller parties,” he noted.

Among these smaller parties are the far-right Greek Solution party of Kyriakos Velopoulos (approximately 9.6%), the ultra-religious Niki party of Dimitris Natsios (approximately 4.4%), and the far-right Voice of Reason party of Afroditi Latinopoulou (approximately 3%). Together these parties, all to the right of New Democracy, won just short of 20% of the vote, mirroring similar developments across the European Union, with strong performances in Northern Greece.

Main opposition party SYRIZA, in its first electoral bout since Stefanos Kasselakis won the party’s leadership contest, retained its second place but also saw limited losses as it finished with 14.9% of the vote, with center-left PASOK getting 12.9%. This translates to four and three MEPs respectively. In his speech, Kasselakis focused on the losses of the ruling party, stating that “the [government’s] alibi of 41% is over”, noting that “we reduced the difference from 23% to 13%”.

However, it should be noted that the New Left, the party formed by 11 former SYRIZA MPs who left the party following the election of Kasselakis, seemingly failed to gain any traction and did not elect an MEP, receiving only 2.4% of the vote.

Finally, the Greek Communist Party strengthened its position by winning 9.2% of the vote (two MEPs), while Course for Freedom also elected an MEP with 3.4% of the vote.

These elections will also be remembered for breaking a new record in voter abstention at 59.5%. This means that only 3,891,466 out of a total of 9,605,244 registered voters turned up at the polls on Sunday.

Spotlight

• Greece was elected a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council this week. This two-year term (2025-2026) is the third time Greece will sit on the Security Council. President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said the election was the “international recognition of its [Greece’s] stabilizing role, and its adherence to the peaceful resolution of differences”. “It is a great honor for the country, a great responsibility for the country”, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece’s nomination received 182 votes in the General Assembly, even though the country’s election was certain as there were only five candidate countries for the five non-permanent seats.
• An intervention by Zeynep Boz, Turkey’s spokesperson at a meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP), challenged one of the chief arguments of the United Kingdom and the British Museum against the return of the Parthenon sculptures. Specifically, Boz said that there is no evidence of an Ottoman authorization for the removal of the sculptures. “We are not aware of any document legitimizing this purchase,” said Boz. “Turkey’s representative (at the UNESCO meeting) confirmed what the Greek side has been arguing for years”, said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, noting that Greece’s argument has been strengthened in the aftermath of the Bos’s statement. Following the UNESCO meeting, the British Museum has said it is seeking a “realistic solution” for the Parthenon Sculptures and a “new relationship” with Greece.

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OPINION

The 21 Greek MEPs and the challenges ahead

By Tom Ellis

Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition

In this new European parliament that came out of the elections in the 27 member states, Greece has to fight to maximize the benefits it gets from the EU.?

A main tool to achieve this is cooperation, in two fronts: First, among the 21 Greek members of the new parliament that will be present in Brussels and Strasbourg. Second, and maybe more so, within the European political groups that New Democracy, SYRIZA, PASOK, and the other parties that managed to get above 3% of the vote, will belong to.

Promoting a European security framework, effectively dealing with the continuing immigration crisis and navigating through the green transition given its short-term costs to the economy,?are among the many issues of concern to Greece, regardless of which specific party one belongs to.

In addition to the obvious fact that our participation in Europe has clear benefits in many sectors, from the modernization of the economy to the digital transformation and from health to education,?Greece cannot afford to be left on its own on a number of fronts.?

Dealing with crises – more floods and fires have become a harsh reality for the country – will require preventive and innovative actions from the government in Athens, but also coordinated moves in many levels of the European decision-making process, including in the parliament.

For all those reasons, and many more, the Greek MEPs?that were elected on Sunday?will have their work cut out for them during the next five years. The hope is that they will prove to be up to the task.

CHART OF THE WEEK

Efforts by Greece’s tax authorities and social security funds to receive some 40 billion euros of outstanding debt may be in vain, even as the total sum owed to them exceeds 150 billion euros. A recent survey by the Center for Social Security Debt Collection estimates that approximately 31.45 billion euros that it is owed, approximately 65.69% of the total sum, were recorded prior to 2009. To avoid the creation of new major debtors, both the tax authorities and social security funds are focusing their efforts in reaching out to those with outstanding obligations and pushing them towards a settlement that will increase the likelihood of full repayment.

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ESCAPADE

12 must-visit Greek museums for 2024

When it comes to choosing where to go and what to see in Greece, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. As far as museums go, you’re spoilt for choice, but, and let’s be honest here, not all museums are created equal.

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ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL

1. “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,458.37 points on Friday, up 1.85% from last week.”
2. “The Greek economy saw growth of 2.1% in the first quarter of 2024 according to the latest data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority on Friday, against a government target of 2.5% for the whole year and a 2.2% forecast by the European Commission.”
3. “The trade deficit for April 2024 grew by 35.6% compared to April 2023 according to Hellenic Statistical Authority. Specifically, the deficit stood at 3.01 billion euros in 2024 compared to 2.22 billion euros the year before. This is because imports increased by 19.8% to 7.48 billion euros, outstripping the 11.1% growth of exports at 4.47 billion euros.”

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA

10/06/2024

Heatwave: Starting on Monday, and expected to last through the week, a heatwave is set to send temperatures soaring in Greece next week.

10/06/2024

Subset Festival: The Subset Festival musical platform, launched last year by the Athens Epidaurus Festival and the Athens Conservatoire, is returning for four days.

13/06/2024

EU Meetings: The European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council will meet for two days in Luxembourg. Ministers will discuss a wide range of issues from asylum and migration, corruption, and combatting organized crime.

PODCAST

Greek teams win big in Europe, but can Greece build on this momentum?

Alexander Kitroeff, a historian with a deep background in Greek sport, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss the historic wins of Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague and Olympiakos in the UEFA Europa Conference League, and look at whether this euphoria and momentum can serve as a springboard for Greek sport – often plagued by fan violence – to build on.

Listen to the episode >