Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament today that the next general elections, despite rampant rumours and reports in both opposition and pro-government media to the contrary, will be held at the end of his four-year constitutional term, in July, 2023.

Over the last months, Mitsotakis has continually denied such rumours, even as they continue to burgeon.

Addressing main opposition leader SYRIZA leader and ex-PM Alexis Tsipras, Mitsotakis declared that the proportional representational electoral law that the previous government passed and which denies the first party a bonus of dozens of seats – that was in force for decades in order to ensure that the top party could secure stable, single-party rule – “is a force for instability”.

“When elections are held at the end of [our] four-year term, that bomb will be neutralised, and after the second [consecutive] general elections [Mitsotakis has made clear he will immediately call a second election if New Democracy does not garner an absolute parliamentary majority] we shall have a single-party government and a self-sufficient Greece,” the PM said.

He maintained that the country needs stability now more than ever, and that that objective is served by governments that enjoy the trust of Parliament and are able to move swiftly.

Moreover, he noted that a single-party government has the capacity to expand its base of support, suggesting that he may court the base and cadres of other parties.

Grappling with global galloping inflation, Tsipras unrealistic

With Greek households battered by skyrocketing energy costs and galloping inflation on basic goods, Mitsotakis underlined that this is a global phenomenon, and he noted that energy prices are five times higher than one year ago.

He also lambasted Alexis Tsipras over SYRIZA’s proposals on how to deal with the crisis.

“Had we listened to you, we would have distributed all available funds from the very first moment and we wouldn’t have a cent” he said.

A dire economic projection

Mitsotakis projected that economic conditions may well gravely deteriorate in the coming months and that even strong economies, such as Germany’s, will face challenges that they could not have imagined four or five months ago.

“We are obliged to keep fiscal reserves so as to have room to support households and businesses to the extent possible. We shall not lead the country to fiscal derailment. I will not do it. I bear the responsibility, and I shall operate within the limits that the country can endure,” the PM said.

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