Greece: New Prime Minister - Old Challenges!

This means that the leader of the winning party, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has been elected as the new Prime Minister of this country. Although he declared that he would "change Greece", according to observers, many difficulties and challenges still await the new Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

Greece

VICTORY IS FORECAST

According to figures released by the Greek Interior Ministry, Kyriakos Mitsotakis' New Democracy Party won nearly 40% of the votes, while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's ruling Syriza Party received just over 31%. As soon as the results were out, Mr. Tsipras admitted defeat and congratulated his opponent.

In fact, the victory of the New Democracy faction is not too surprising, when in recent elections, this party has won consecutively. Specifically, in both elections in May and June, the European Parliament (EP) election and the local election, the New Democracy party won against the ruling Syriza party. It was these unfavorable results that forced Mr. Tsipras to ask the President to dissolve the parliament and hold an early general election - about 3 months before the current government's term expires.

New Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis faces a host of challenges. Photo: News.com.au

Once hailed as a “hero” for helping Greece escape the biggest public debt crisis in history - which had pushed the country to the brink of bankruptcy, Mr. Tsipras himself now has to sadly accept the reality that the people of this country are too tired after 8 years of implementing a harsh “belt-tightening” policy.

Looking back at the beginning of his term, Mr. Tsipras steadfastly applied austerity policies to the end. Thanks to that, his government was approved by the troika of creditors including the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after many years of severe economic crisis. However, although it has escaped the bankruptcy scenario, it must be admitted that since August 2018 until now, Greece is still struggling to develop the economy, with high unemployment.

The Greek people appear to be exhausted by the austerity policies of Prime Minister Tsipras' government.

Not to mention, recently the opposition and the people do not agree with some of Mr. Tsipras's policy views. Typically, there is strong opposition to Mr. Tsipras's agreement to call Macedonia the Republic of North Macedonia - which has the same name as a northern province of the country. Opponents say that Mr. Tsipras has abandoned part of the country by agreeing to an agreement with Macedonia to resolve the 27-year-old dispute over the name of this northern neighbor. And that most people oppose it because they are concerned that this coincidence could lead to a territorial dispute with the neighboring country.

Facing Old Challenges

The victory of the new Prime Minister Mitsotakis can be said to be based on fatigue and dissatisfaction with the previous administration. However, such disappointments will set higher expectations for the next leader. Elected Prime Minister in the context of Greece still facing many difficulties, especially economic difficulties, according to observers, Mr. Mitsotakis will have to face a series of challenges that are not new!

The anticipated transfer of power between predecessor Alexis Tsipras and new Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Source: DW

First of all, it is the responsibility of stabilizing Greece's finances to continue to satisfy the trio of creditors, create friendliness for businesses and attract investment, and revive the economy. Specifically, Mr. Mitsotakis will have to solve a series of problems from government finances, remaining loans, and bureaucratic policies that still permeate the government. Importantly, all reforms or innovations must still be within the framework of strict financial restrictions imposed by the creditors. In addition, bad debt is also an issue that Mr. Mitsotakis's government must worry about. Solving about 80 billion euros of bad debt left by the previous government can be said to be a difficult legacy!

Greeks need strong reforms. Photo: AFP

Another top challenge for the new Prime Minister Mitsotakis is attracting investment, with the goal of doubling Greece's growth rate to around 4% by 2020. Looking back from 2018 to now, the Greek economy has improved by around 1.9% and is on track to grow above 2% this year. But this growth is still not enough to meet the 3.5% annual growth commitment to international creditors until 2022.

To convince investors, new Prime Minister Mitsotakis is expected to revive the long-delayed Hellinikon project. The $7 billion project is expected to transform the abandoned Hellinikon airport complex into one of Europe's largest resorts with about 8,000 hotels, apartments, shopping centers and entertainment centers, twice the size of New York's Central Park. The project is expected to create a turning point for the Greek economy with about 10,000 - 70,000 new jobs for the people.

New Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected by the people to bring a new Greece. Photo: AFP - Getty

Meanwhile, in terms of energy, the new Greek Prime Minister will also have to prioritize the Public Power Corp. Greece’s largest electricity supplier is already struggling with a loss of more than 500 million euros in 2018. In addition, there are a series of issues such as governance, security, immigration, foreign policy, etc.

For his part, speaking to the press right after the first preliminary results were announced, Mr. Mitsotakis affirmed that this victory has given him a clear and strong mission to change Greece. He also said that he will soon negotiate with European creditors as soon as the new government is formed, to reduce the tax burden from austerity policies and stimulate investment and development of the country. Despite his determination, it can be seen that solving this mountain of challenges will cost the new Greek Prime Minister a lot of time and effort. And whether he can meet the wishes of voters or not, this question will take a long time to answer!