In his first interview after Sunday’s European Parliament elections, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ruled out the possibility of calling snap elections despite the disappointing result for his conservative party.
“The result was not what we expected,” Mitsotakis told Alpha TV, after New Democracy collected 28.3 percent of the vote. Just a year earlier, the party had won nearly 41% of the vote in the national elections.
He also dispelled talks of a government shake-up.
“This Friday’s cabinet meeting will proceed with its current composition.”
“It is better that citizens sent this message now, as we have three years ahead of us” Mr. Mitsotakis said.
Sunday’s EU elections saw a poor voter turnout in Greece with a record-breaking 59.5% of registered voters not casting a ballot.
According to Interior Ministry data, 3,891,466 people participated in the election last Sunday, out of a total of 9,605,244 registered voters, bringing participation to 40.5%.
Asked about the direction of his policy, Mr.Mitsotakis emphasized effectiveness over political orientation.
“The issue,” Mr. Mitsotakis said, “ is not whether we move towards the center or the right, but whether we will be more effective.”
The conservative leader admitted that New Democracy suffered losses from its decision to legalise same-sex marriages. Still, Mr. Mitsotakis said,he had no intention of caving into pressure and retracting the landmark move for Greece.