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"New Greece" or "a nightmare"? Mitsotakis and Tsipras close the campaign with a final clash

2023-05-20 16:19:28Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"New Greece" or "a nightmare"? Mitsotakis and Tsipras close
Tsipras and Mitsotakis

Athens (AFP) - A day before Greece's election, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ended his election campaign on Friday pledging to continue building a new Greece, while his main opponent, Alexis Tsipras, predicted and promised an end to the nightmare.

With the Acropolis hill in the background, the outgoing head of government and head of the right-wing "New Democracy" predicted a big victory during the closing rally of the campaign on Sunday evening, May 21.

As the Parthenon behind him lit up on a typical Athenian night, he asked voters for a second term to continue building a modern and prosperous new Greece, after laying the foundations over the past four years.

"What we promised, we did," said the 55-year-old, former Harvard student, who has repeatedly emphasized his economic record during the election campaign.

The scion of a long political dynasty - as his father was also prime minister - recalls raising the minimum wage from 650 to 780 euros and cutting some taxes as the Greek economy recovers from years of financial meltdown and bailouts. .

"Shock Doctrine"

At the same time, in Patras, a major port in the Peloponnese (southwest), Alexis Tsipras, leader of the left-wing SYRIZA, on the contrary, judged that Greek society had suffered the brunt of the one-person shock doctrine, which had promised better jobs and wages.

The former prime minister of the radical left (2015-2019), who has largely refocused his party since then, sharply attacked his opponent's economic policies, which he said left the middle class living with food customs.

While Greece experienced economic growth of 5.9% last year, many Greeks face financial difficulties every day, victims of the high cost of living and high energy prices.

Public debt also remains colossal, at over 170% of GDP, and public services have suffered drastic cuts, especially in the health sector, as a result of the conditions imposed by the country's creditors for the granting of financial rescue measures.

"Change is knocking at our doors," Tsipras told his supporters gathered in the country's third city.

"On Sunday, the nightmare ends and change is coming," he emphasized.

On Saturday, on the eve of the vote that should make it possible to determine the 300 deputies of the parliament, no political demonstration or publication of polls is allowed.

Leading the polls with a lead of 5-7 points, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, may not have an absolute majority on Sunday evening to form a government, however.

In this case, he wants to call new elections in early July, which, due to a different electoral system, could allow his camp to enjoy a mandate bonus.

"There are no lies"

For Nadia Angelopoulou, a 47-year-old civil servant interviewed by AFP during Mitsotakis' meeting, his tenure has been "excellent on all levels".

"We don't hear lies," she assured, insisting on salary increases expected if he is re-elected, one of the main promises of the right-wing candidate's campaign.

In Patras, Kyriakos Bazaroglou, 50, prepares to put his ballot in the ballot box for SYRIZA.

"I will give Tsipras another chance," he told AFP.

"Since the crisis, we have not raised our heads. We have Balkan salaries and European prices", he complains.

Many observers also fear a strong abstention on Sunday.

In the last legislative elections in 2019, he scored a record 42%.

Faced with the anger that awoke among young people the serious railway accident of February 28 where 57 people lost their lives, the vote of young people and the undecided will be decisive.

"I will go abroad to find a job. I don't care what government will emerge, I don't have much hope for the future of the country," said Angelos, a 19-year-old student who asked not to be identified.


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