Greece to Repay €8 Billion in Bailout Loans Early

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said voters sent a clear message of trust in European elections but want improvements.

In his first interview after European Parliament Elections last Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said “corrective measures” would be taken admitting that the result was far from expectations.

In the midst of increasing rumors, Mitsotakis ruled out early elections and instead hinted in an interview on Alpha channel at a government reshuffle.

Commenting on the election result which saw the ruling New Democracy party receive 28.31% of the vote and seven seats on the 720-seat European Parliament, the Greek PM said he was “concerned and relieved”, adding that it was better that the Greek people sent the message early on.

In general elections last May, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party won 40.79%  of the vote clinching 146 seats in Greece’s 300-seat parliament.

“It is my responsibility to correctly decode the election result and to take corrective actions that will show citizens that we’ve taken their message into account,” he said.

Among others, Mitsotakis attributed the low percentage to the soaring prices of goods and the cost of living and to his government’s bold decision to legalize same sex marriage.

Lastly, he said general elections would be held as scheduled in 2027. “I believe in four-year cycles so that citizens have time to assess. There is no question of early elections. We will proceed with big changes,” he said.

Sunday’s EU elections saw a poor voter turnout in Greece with a massive 59.5% deciding to not cast their ballot. According to Interior Ministry data, 3,891,466 people participated in the elections last Sunday out of a total of 9,605,244 listed voters bringing participation to 40.5%.