Greece is getting ready for the new parliamentary elections to be held in 1 month, on May 21. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis formally submitted this Saturday in her office to President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the request for the dissolution of the parliament and the announcement of new elections on this date. The president accepted the request, while the official start of the electoral campaign is expected in the following days.
Polls predict that Mitsotakis' New Democracy will regain a parliamentary majority, but chances are high that they will fall short of the quota of 151 MPs to form a government on their own.
In the elections 4 years ago, Mitsotakis Democrats got 5 MPs more than this quota, but the tragic railway accident of February 28 in Tempi that killed 57 people, considered the worst in the history of the country, has reduced it significantly popular support for them.
Analysts say Mitsotakis will have to form a coalition with the left-wing Syriza, which is expected to come second, or with PASOK, which is expected to come third.
It is more likely that these two parties will form a governing coalition with each other, if the mandate to form the government passes to one of them. Both have warned that they will not cooperate with the New Democracy. If the negotiations fail, the country could go to early elections in July.