The undisputed dominance of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a strengthened far-right political landscape is the common denominator in the responses of the German, Italian and Belgian press to the election result of June 25 in Greece.

“The conservative party of Mitsotakis is clearly ahead”, notes the first channel of the German public television (ARD) on its website from Sunday evening. “A clear victory for Mitsotakis” sees the Cologne newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.

“Kyriakos Mitsotakis, winner in a tired country” is the title of the Spiegel Online commentary.

The newspaper Tagesspiegel publishes a short article entitled: “Right turn in Greece. The conservatives win (the elections), a neo-Nazi party enters Parliament.”

The economic review Handelsblatt, in response from Athens, notes that “in the election campaign, Mitsotakis presented himself as a guarantor of political stability, economic growth, tax reductions, investments and new jobs”. He also points out that Greece “has made great progress in recent years in consolidating public finances and reducing debt. As of 2021 Greece has one of the highest growth rates among EU member states. Since Mitsotakis came to power investments have increased by 44%. In the previous two years, Greece managed to reduce its debt as a percentage of GDP more quickly than any other EU country, specifically by 35 percentage points, reaching 171.3%”, relays the Greek edition of DW.

The elections “cut” the political landscape

“Mitsotakis facing a second term” is the headline of the left-wing newspaper Tageszeitung (taz), which, in response from Athens, reports that “the conservative New Democracy clearly won the parliamentary elections”, but also that “the turnout has collapsed, reaching 52.8% on Sunday, a negative record for Greece”:

In another analysis, the Berlin newspaper focuses on the rise of far-right parties and argues that “Sunday’s elections are a turning point. Only in the first elections after the fall of the junta, in 1974, did the Greeks vote, by majority, for right-of-center parties. Since then there has been a stable majority of left-wing parties, even if this was not reflected in a corresponding parliamentary majority, due to the large number of parties that presented themselves as ‘left’, but also due to the electoral system of enhanced proportionality. That has now changed. Together with the far-right parties, the ND has a two-thirds majority of the total number of deputies”.

“SYRIZA in front of debris”

“Kyriakos Mitsotakis secures his re-election with an absolute majority” is the headline in the extensive analysis of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), which points out that “the Conservatives managed to maintain the very good election result of May 21”. On the contrary, the Swiss newspaper points out, “SYRIZA is in ruins. With 17.8% of the vote, the party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras further reduces its appeal and gathers only 48 seats (…) Tsipras ran an election campaign with a negative sign, focusing exclusively on criticism of Mitsotakis and the consequences of his reforms. His party did not have a credible proposition of its own to the voters. The left-wing coalition grew in size during the debt crisis and one could say that it is still doing politics for a country in crisis. But Greece is in a different position today. The irony is that this is partly due to the reforms already launched by Tsipras, under pressure from the EU.”

“Now Mitsotakis can govern alone”

The full order has arrived and is also in the sound of the celebrations of the fans who were waiting for Kyriakos Mitsotakis, sweating, under the sun, outside the offices of New Democracy” writes the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, commenting on the results of the elections in Greece.

Regarding the future of SYRIZA, he states that “the possibility of Alexis Tsipras’ resignation remains, but the relevant decision will be taken by his party” and at the same time underlines that “all together, SYRIZA, PASOK and the KKE, gather 39.5% of the votes”.

“Triumph of conservatives in Greece. Now Mitsotakis can govern alone”, writes the newspaper La Repubblica and adds that “this is the chronicle of a foretold victory”. “He has led the country since 2019 and now, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the ultimate triumphant. He survived the drop in attendance that everyone feared and won the bet he placed a month ago,” the Rome newspaper underlines.

“The Greek prime minister can already count on the support of the markets, which for days now have a positive sign, in view of the composition of the new government, whose line is in favor of business and foreign investment”, writes the envoy of La Repubblica . Speaking to the newspaper, Oxford University professor Stathis Kalivas recalls that in May, older citizens had already rewarded New Democracy “thanks to the stabilization of the economy and a growth prospect of 2.4%, higher than the European average term”.

The Italian news agency Ansa reports that “Mitsotakis triumphs in Greece and secures an absolute majority”. “The Greek prime minister celebrates and declares: ‘it’s time for reforms,'” adds Ansa.

Finally, all the Italian media express strong concern about the entry into parliament of the “Spartiates” party and remind.

“Greece is turning too far to the right”

The Belgian press speaks of an absolute victory for the Right of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which allows the formation of a “stable government in Greece”, at the same time pointing out the alarming rise of three small far-right parties.

“Parliamentary elections in Greece: the country is turning too far to the right”, is the title of today’s publication of the French-language newspaper “Le Soir”, stating that after the elections, which were won by the outgoing prime minister and leader of the conservative right-wing New Democracy party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ” Greece turned a little harder to the right.”

“Three small far-right parties gather 13% of the vote, including the Spartans, supported by Ilias Kasidiaris, a former executive of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party,” Soir points out.

“Soir” also notes that for more than fifteen years, no Greek prime minister has managed to be re-elected at the end of a completed term. He also emphasizes that New Democracy won seats compared to the May 21 parliamentary elections, which, with full proportionality, did not make it possible to achieve a majority or form a coalition.

“Behind the smiles, however, Greece and the right have some reasons to worry,” Soir comments, explaining that the abstention rate has skyrocketed – only 52.75% of registered voters went to vote, compared to 61 ,10% on May 21 and in addition because three small far-right parties gather 13% of the vote.

The newspaper L’ECHO, under the title “Mitsotakis’ Right wins the parliamentary elections”, republishes a telegram from the Belgian agency BELGA, pointing out that the leader of the Right, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, won an absolute majority that will allow the formation of a stable government and a new prime ministerial term for him. He also notes that the ND, which has been in power since 2019, gathered 40.5% of the vote, “more than double that of its main rival, the left-wing SYRIZA”.

Read also: Politico: The most conservative Greek parliament in the post-colonial era

The BELGA agency also speaks of a “heavy defeat” for Alexis Tsipras and SYRIZA which suffered a “disappointing setback” with just 17.8% of the vote.

“Greece: with an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections, K. Mitsotakis is the new prime minister”, is the headline of “La Libre”, speaking of a “great victory” for the Right and an absolute majority. Republishing a telegram from the French agency AFP, “La Libre” reports that eight parties are in the Hellenic Parliament, “including the far-right party “Spartiates”, which is supported by a former member of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn formation, Ilias Kasidiaris, who is serving a heavy prison sentence.”

It is also noted that Kyriakos Mitsotakis had won a landslide victory five weeks ago with 40.79% of the vote – twice as high as SYRIZA’s, but this percentage did not give him an absolute majority to form a government without to have to form an alliance, but this time the electoral system gives the party that came out on top a “bonus” of up to 50 seats.

“Greece: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a conservative who has bet everything on economic recovery”, is the title of “Derniere Heure” which also republishes a telegram from the French agency AFP. He points out that the 55-year-old Mr. Mitsotakis promised wage increases, while the cost of living and low incomes remain the main concern of Greeks. In addition, it is noted that Kyriakos Mitsotakis has pledged to carry out mass recruitment in the public health sector which is suffering from a huge lack of resources after the crisis. “His first term was marked by the revival of a still ailing economy when he took office in 2019 after years of drastic austerity plans during which the country lost a quarter of its gross domestic product (GDP),” it says, while noting that last year economic growth in Greece reached 5.9%.