The resilience of ND and Mitsotakis’ hegemony
In a span of three months, we’ve witnessed wildfires, floods, other disasters, and the election of a new leader of the main opposition SYRIZA party. Yet, the opinion polls have remained largely unchanged. The dominance of New Democracy and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is unquestionable, as is the inability of the new leader of the radical Left to make inroads into the center. Stefanos Kasselakis was elected because the body that chose him believed he could challenge Mitsotakis. But to achieve that, the new leader must first win over the moderate vote. This is a political space that is unswayed by antics and communication tricks but values seriousness and moderation.
Initial impressions suggest that the mission undertaken by the new leader to defeat Mitsotakis faces significant challenges. Kasselakis didn’t experience the initial surge that most newly elected leaders do, and despite the tragic events of those 100 days, Mitsotakis displays remarkable resilience, evident in all the opinion polls. I remember in the spring of 2016, just a few months after he was elected as the leader of New Democracy, Mitsotakis propelled his conservative party to the top of the polls, a lead he not only retained but also expanded over time. For seven and a half years, he has dominated the political scene without any serious challenges to his leadership.
Kasselakis was elected because the body that chose him believed he could challenge Mitsotakis. But to achieve that, the new leader must first win over the moderate vote
Considering that on a European level, the political axis is shifting toward the right, there is currently no significant representation in Greece for the political space which lies to the right of New Democracy, which places the prime minister in a safe position. Prudent leaders do not allow their reform agendas to exceed the boundaries of their faction, especially when they have already broadened and renewed these boundaries.
The entire situation described above lends stability to our political system because the main pillar of it, New Democracy, which is also the ruling party, exhibits unique cohesion. As a result, it can implement its program with few obstacles, little resistance, and, most importantly, without compromises. I cannot recall any similar instance of complete party dominance since 1974. Even during its peak, in the early 1980s, PASOK felt the breath of the restructured New Democracy under Evangelos Averoff (1984) and Konstantinos Mitsotakis (1985).
