Greece to have elections in May, prime minister says

March 22, 2023 12:03 AM EET | By Reuters
Image source: Reuters

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will hold general elections in May, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a television interview on Tuesday.

The conservative government's four-year term expires in July, and Mitsotakis was widely expected to call an election in early April.

Opinion polls show his New Democracy party's lead over the leftist opposition Syriza party shrinking following Greece's worst rail disaster on Feb. 28.

The accident, during which a passenger train and a freight train collided head on, killed 57 people and stirred anger and mass protests over railway safety standards.

"I can tell you with certainty that the elections will be held in May," Mitsotakis said in interview with Alpha TV, his first since the disaster.

Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Greece over the crash, in the largest street protests the government has faced since being elected in 2019.

Protesters accuse the current government as well as previous governments of the past decade of turning a blind eye to repeated calls by unions over safety shortcomings in the railway, a legacy of Greece's decade long financial crisis which ended in 2018.

The government has mainly blamed human error. Four railway workers, including the duty station master, were detained.

Mitsotakis has apologised for a delayed plan to install safety systems across Greece's 2,500-km (1,550-mile) rail network.

Mitsotakis said visiting the crash scene was "tough" but that he did not consider resigning.

"I aim to win elections again and I believe that we will eventually succeed," he said.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Renee Maltezou, Lefteris Papadimas; editing by Grant McCool)


Disclaimer

The above content is directly sourced from Reuters under a contractual arrangement. The content is being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; and does not constitute an endorsement or approval by Kalkine Media of any of the products, services, or opinions of the organization or individual. The user is apprised that Kalkine Media bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content of Reuters, any external sites, or for that of subsequent links. The user is requested to contact Reuters directly for answers to questions regarding the content. Please note that Kalkine Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.



Top LSE Listed Companies