ATHENS — Senior Greek officials in the scandal-hit ruling party of conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis are discussing whether to call an early election in the fall rather than waiting until next year.
Support for Mitsotakis’ ruling New Democracy has fallen sharply since the last general election in 2023 amid surging inflation, revelations about high-level fraud with EU funds, and the government’s botched response to the country’s worst rail disaster.
While New Democracy still leads in the polls, the key calculation for its top brass is whether to call a vote before the fragmented opposition can unite and build momentum against Mitsotakis.
POLITICO’s Poll of Polls puts New Democracy on 30 percent, almost twice the backing of its nearest rival. The newly created Elas party of former left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in second place on 16 percent.
For now, Mitsotakis is insisting that he will see out his full term into 2027. Speaking on the island of Rhodes over the weekend, he said “elections will be held in spring of 2027, as scheduled.”
Inside his party, though, four senior politicians told POLITICO that discussions were ongoing about shooting for a vote in late September or October.
“The PM has asked all the ministries to have their tasks completed by late August, so that he can have the option of early elections,” said one senior government official, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of party discussions.
Another senior New Democracy official said: “Several government officials have advised Mitsotakis to bring elections forward so that the opposition doesn’t have time to re-organize itself.”
The opposition socialist Pasok party has repeatedly called for early elections despite trailing in polls.
“Our country will only escape this dystopia through elections,” Pasok leader Nikos Androulakis told the country’s parliament earlier this year.
The government officials say a final decision will be made at the end of the summer. Greece takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2027, which means a government will need to be formed before then. It is likely that more than one electoral round will be needed to form a new administration.
If New Democracy does ultimately choose early elections, they will probably be held after the prime minister’s speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair in early September. The speech serves as Greece’s unofficial “State of the Union” address and could allow Mitsotakis to present pre-election sweeteners like tax cuts and other financial supports.
For now, the polls suggest no party has the 37 percent to 40 percent support that would be needed to form a majority government.
But there are other signs New Democracy is laying the ground for an election.
Mitsotakis announced a mini cabinet reshuffle last week, with four new appointments across three ministries. Konstantinos Kyranakis, a 39-year-old hard-line politician who served as deputy infrastructure minister, was appointed secretary general of New Democracy on Wednesday.
The appointments were seen as a further rightward shift by the government to appeal to its conservative base.
Following a similarly conservative trajectory, the Greek finance ministry introduced a new bill to parliament that includes sweeping salary increases for the highest-ranking officials in the powerful Orthodox church.
Mitsotakis said this had long been demanded. “I find it difficult to accept that the salary of a Metropolitan [senior Orthodox bishop], who in any case administers a large metropolis, would be significantly lower than that of the mufti,” he said in an interview with ANT1 TV, using a term for Islamic religious scholars who interpret Islamic law.
While noncommital about when the election should take place, Tsipras’ party is already promising that New Democracy’s track record on corruption will be at the heart of its campaign.
“The next election, whenever it takes place, will present a clear choice: corruption or integrity,” Elas said in a statement.