Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday evening said the possibility of snap elections in crisis-battered Greece is high -- either because the SYRIZA-led coalition will lose its slim Parliament majority or because it will seek a solution through the ballot box.
The next general election is scheduled in 2019, as 2015 witnessed two snap elections and a controversial referendum over a muddled question regarding creditors’ offer at the time. A resounding "no" by the popular vote in the referendum was followed by a "yes" from the government to subsequent terms – i.e. the third memorandum or bailout in August 2015.
Mitsotakis spoke in Athens at an Economist event entitled "The World in 2017".
Moreover, the pro-reform former minister dismissed standing government criticism against the prospect of early elections, saying the ballot box does not translate into more instability, "because first off, we will win the election; secondly, we have a credible agenda."
"Greece was the first country in which the populists assumed power (amid the 21st century economic crisis). The issue is what comes next. We saw what followed on the economic front and with institutions," he said, half-jokingly advising the Economist to add a 10th election to its 2017 calendar.
Mitsotakis spoke on the same panel as noted US political scientist and author Francis Fukuyama, who returned to Greece for an Economist conference.
The author of the 1992 best-seller "The End of History and the Last Man" cautioned the audience members in the upscale Athens hotel not to underestimate Donald Trump’s intelligence and strategic thinking, saying the latter will take into account the bloc of American workers in every decision that he’ll take.
