A clear win, but some challenges demand consensus
After not only consolidating its position as the country’s major political force, but at the same time further increasing an already huge gap separating it from the second and third largest parties, SYRIZA and PASOK, New Democracy returned to power with a higher percentage than it got in the 2019 election.
For his part, Kyriakos Mitsotakis returns to the position of prime minister vowing to push ahead from the very start of his second term with reforms which the country desperately needs.
He will move forward with many different faces in the ministries; not necessarily new ones as many will rotate among the different departments – an example being Nikos Dendias moving from Foreign Affairs to Defense.
Mitsotakis appointed more women in his new government, partly correcting a mistake he acknowledged he had made in his first term. Still, some would question if the 15 women he named to his cabinet, out of a total of 64 (ministers, alternate and deputy ministers), are enough.
Looking ahead there are many challenges the new government will have to address, a number of them exceptionally sensitive and instrumental to the country’s future, therefore requiring the broadest possible consensus.
Relations with Turkey is one of them. On this front, there has been a prevailing sense over the past few months that big international players, with significant clout at the European and global levels, want the conclusion of the long election period in both countries – as was also the case with Cyprus a few months ago – to lead to the normalization of bilateral relations, to the benefit of the two sides, but also in favor of peace and stability in the region.
For any such effort to have any chance of success, however, no matter how strong the government majority in Parliament, and 158 members of Parliament out of 300 is a solid one, it needs to have the backing of a broad segment of society and the political system.
The initiative for making the moves that will be required to achieve this consensus rests with the prime minister.
That said, the parties of the opposition also need to step up – if not those at the extremes of the ideological spectrum, then certainly the two major parties of the center-left, which also have government experience and are eyeing a return to power at some point in the future.
Another major challenge facing the new government is the revision of the Constitution, a process that requires an enhanced majority of 180 MPs.
Here too, there will need to be some level of understanding of what the review will entail, as well as support from more than one party.
