Greece: General Election, June 2023

On Sunday 25 June, Greece went to the polls for the second time this year. Despite taking place during a cost-of-living crisis, the country’s own Watergate scandal of secret surveillance of politicians, the Tempe valley train crash, and the loss of hundreds of people off Greece coast, the New Democracy party under Kyriakos Mitsotakis won decisively. SYRIZA came in a distant second, while a number of far-right parties entered parliament for the first time. This Just the Facts looks at Greece’s parliamentary system, the campaign issues and the results of the general election.

Greece’s Parliamentary System

Greece is a unicameral parliamentary republic. Its political system includes the President, the Prime Minister, and their parliament called the Hellenic Parliament. “Hellenic is used to describe the people, language, and culture of” both ancient and modern Greece. It is sourced from the ancient Greek ελληνικός (“Hellēnikós”), meaning “of or relating to Greece or Greeks”.

The President, elected every five years by the Parliament, is the ceremonial head of state, similar to that of the President of Ireland. Katerina Sakellaropoulou has been President of Greece since March 2020.

However, it is the head of government, the Prime Minister, who holds the majority of political power in Greece. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, is the leader of the biggest party in the Parliament and recommends ministers to the President for appointment or dismissal. Kyriakos Mitsotakis of New Democracy has been Prime Minister since July 2019.

The Hellenic Parliament is made up of 300 members of parliament (MPs), who are elected for a four-year term across 56 constituencies, 48 of which are multi-seat and 8 single-seat. In July 2016, under the SYRIZA – Independent Greeks coalition government, the voting age was reduced from 18 to 17. Additionally, the law which had been in place since 1990, that gave the largest party after a general election a 50-seat bonus was abolished. As a result, all 300 seats would be awarded proportionally, where a working majority of 151 seats would be needed to form a government.

New Democracy, a centre-right to right-wing party won 158 seats in the July 2019 general election. In January 2020, it reintroduced that 50-seat bonus, but under a different formula.

The largest political party would receive an additional 20 seats. After this, parties that won 25% – 40% of the vote would receive one seat for every half percentage point within this range (going up to 30 seats). The winning party could be awarded up to 50 extra seats. When this new formula was adopted in January 2020, it would apply at the general election that would follow the next scheduled election, which was May 2023.  

Therefore, in Greece’s two general elections this year, two different electoral voting systems were used. At the May 2023 general election, New Democracy won 146 seats, just five short needed for a majority. In order to try and secure that new seat bonus that was adopted in January 2020, Mitsotakis called for a snap general election to take place on Sunday, 25 June.

June 2023 Campaign Issues

Cost of living: Despite Greece’s strong economic growth in recent years, with high growth, debt reduction, and increasing investments, many Greeks are struggling to afford basic goods and have had difficulty coping with rising energy costs and food prices. Strikes and protests in Greece in November on the cost-of-living crisis, resulted in clashes with police. As a result, it became a key electoral issue in the campaign. According to the European Commission, out of the EU’s 27 Member States, Greece has the 23^rd highest average annual salary in the EU, at €15,879. This compares to Ireland which is 3^rd with €50,347, while Luxembourg is 1^st with €72,247.

Surveillance scandal: Another issue which featured highly in the campaign, was the allegations in August 2022 that the New Democracy government had wiretapped the phone of Nikos Androulakis, the leader of centre-left PASOK–KINAL.  It has been described as Greece’s own version of the U.S.’s 1972 Watergate scandal. According to reports, “the government dismisses allegations that the scandal goes up to Mitsotakis himself and says any wrongdoings were done by ‘foul networks’ within the intelligence agency”.

Tempi Train Crash: In February 2023, a passenger train collided with a freight train in the Tempe Vally in central Greece, killing at least 57 people, becoming the deadliest rail disaster in Greece. It sparked vigils, demonstrations, union strikes and clashes with police across the country, who blamed the government for failing “to adequately fund railroad services, citing the shortages of staff, security, and necessary infrastructure”. The European Union Agency for Railways had repeatedly warned Greece in recent years regarding safety issues across its national rail network, which is owned by state-owned Hellenic Railways Organisation.

Results of the 25 June 2023 General Election

A table at the end of this Just the Facts lists the full results.

Despite the campaign issues facing the government, New Democracy Party decisively won the June general election, winning 40.5% (-0.2%) of the vote, which resulted in the party securing 158 (+12) seats.

It took place shortly after the loss of hundreds of people who drowned after a fishing boat which was smuggling them from Libya capsized in the Ionian Sea, off Greece’s south-west coast on 10 June.

The tragedy called “into question the actions of Greek authorities and the country’s strict migration policy. But the disaster, one of the worst in the Mediterranean in recent years, did not affect the election, with domestic economic issues at the forefront of voters’ minds”.

According to reports, “as Greece gradually recovers from its brutal financial crisis, voters appear happy to return to power a prime minister who delivered economic growth and lowered unemployment”.

The main opposition party, the left-wing party SYRIZA, led by former Prime Minister from 2015 – 9, Alexis Tsipras, came in a distant second with 17.8% (-2.2%) of the vote and 47 (-24) seats.

The centre-left PASOK–KINAL, which once dominated Greek politics from the 1970s – 2000s until the financial crash, came third with 11.8% (+0.3%) of the vote and 32 (-9) seats. The far-left Communist Party of Greece came fourth with 7.6% (+0.4%) of votes and 21 (-5) seats. While left-populist party, Course of Freedom entered the parliament with eight seats and 3.1% of votes.

One noticeable result of the election was that a number of far-right parties entered the Hellenic Parliament for the first time. This included the Spartans, which won 4.6% of the vote winning 12 seats, and Victory on 3.6% winning 10 seats, while Greek Solution returned 12 (-4) seats with 4.4% (-0.1%) of votes.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Prime Minister on 27 June, and the new government was announced the following day, just days after the general election took place.

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