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ATHENS: Greek ex-prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who hopes to clinch an absolute majority in next week’s general election, is credited with returning his debt-ridden country to a path of growth.
He is on course to win the vote despite a wiretapping scandal and a devastating train crash in February, which dealt blows to his liberal reformer profile.
Mitsotakis, a scion of a conservative dynasty prominent in Greek politics for decades, is seeking a second straight four-year term as prime minister.
His conservative New Democracy party came first in last month’s general election but with insufficient votes for a workable parliamentary majority.
In a bid to obtain an even broader victory and govern alone, Mitsotakis declined a mandate to form a government after the May 21 vote, and a second election was called.
The 55-year-old Harvard graduate, who worked at US financial consultancy McKinsey, has offered his country a rare respite from economic instability in the face of global upheavals including Covid and the war in Ukraine.
Greece’s remarkable economic recovery from the pandemic is one of Mitsotakis’ top talking points, in addition to heavy spending on defence.
Although Greece lost out on vital tourism revenues during Covid, it posted growth of 8.3 percent in 2021 and 5.9 percent in 2022.
Economic issues nevertheless remain a key concern with voters. Left-wing former premier Alexis Tsipras says the rosy headline figures belie growing poverty and wages that are failing to keep pace with rising prices.
Mitsotakis’ conservatives say they increased national output by 29 billion euros ($31.4 billion) during their four years in office.
They also claim to have overseen the largest infrastructure upgrade since 1975, including highways, airports, ports and marinas.
When a devastating head-on train collision killed 57 people in February, Mitsotakis’ administration initially blamed the tragedy on human error, before acknowledging the parlous state of the rail network.
He says his government cut 50 taxes, upped the minimum wage, and propped up businesses and individuals through lockdowns and inflation with support packages worth more than 57 billion euros.
He has promised to levy no new taxes, and vowed to hire 10,000 doctors and nurses for the understaffed public health system.
First elected to parliament in 2004, Mitsotakis became leader of New Democracy in 2016 and took Greece’s top job in 2019, trouncing Tsipras, who had been premier during some of Greece’s rockiest economic years.
Born in Athens in 1968, Mitsotakis hails from a political dynasty.
His father Konstantinos Mitsotakis was prime minister from 1990 to 1993.
His sister Dora Bakoyannis was mayor of Athens and a government minister. Her son is the capital’s current mayor.
Tall, slender and uptight, Mitsotakis stopped wearing ties on the campaign trail and courted selfies with teens in an effort to appear personable.
But he is awkward around crowds and has struggled to shake off his elitist image.
At the onset of the pandemic, Mitsotakis earned plaudits for keeping a lid on virus deaths.
But he caused outrage at the height of a strict lockdown when photos emerged of him and his wife on a biking trip on Mount Parnitha, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Athens.
Mitsotakis was pictured standing among a group of motocross riders, maskless and in violation of social distancing rules.
Then last year, an illegal wiretapping scandal targeting journalists and political figures including Socialist opposition leader Nikos Androulakis dealt another blow to his record.
Mitsotakis has sought to woo the conservative base with a tough line on migration.
Greece is a landing point for tens of thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, many fleeing conflict or poverty.
Last month his government earned international opprobrium over footage reportedly showing migrants being forcefully pushed back out to sea and set adrift.
And this week, after a migrant tragedy off Greece in which at least 78 died and hundreds were feared missing, the United Nations stressed: “The duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay is a fundamental rule of international maritime law.”
He is on course to win the vote despite a wiretapping scandal and a devastating train crash in February, which dealt blows to his liberal reformer profile.
Mitsotakis, a scion of a conservative dynasty prominent in Greek politics for decades, is seeking a second straight four-year term as prime minister.
His conservative New Democracy party came first in last month’s general election but with insufficient votes for a workable parliamentary majority.
In a bid to obtain an even broader victory and govern alone, Mitsotakis declined a mandate to form a government after the May 21 vote, and a second election was called.
The 55-year-old Harvard graduate, who worked at US financial consultancy McKinsey, has offered his country a rare respite from economic instability in the face of global upheavals including Covid and the war in Ukraine.
Greece’s remarkable economic recovery from the pandemic is one of Mitsotakis’ top talking points, in addition to heavy spending on defence.
Although Greece lost out on vital tourism revenues during Covid, it posted growth of 8.3 percent in 2021 and 5.9 percent in 2022.
Economic issues nevertheless remain a key concern with voters. Left-wing former premier Alexis Tsipras says the rosy headline figures belie growing poverty and wages that are failing to keep pace with rising prices.
Mitsotakis’ conservatives say they increased national output by 29 billion euros ($31.4 billion) during their four years in office.
They also claim to have overseen the largest infrastructure upgrade since 1975, including highways, airports, ports and marinas.
When a devastating head-on train collision killed 57 people in February, Mitsotakis’ administration initially blamed the tragedy on human error, before acknowledging the parlous state of the rail network.
He says his government cut 50 taxes, upped the minimum wage, and propped up businesses and individuals through lockdowns and inflation with support packages worth more than 57 billion euros.
He has promised to levy no new taxes, and vowed to hire 10,000 doctors and nurses for the understaffed public health system.
First elected to parliament in 2004, Mitsotakis became leader of New Democracy in 2016 and took Greece’s top job in 2019, trouncing Tsipras, who had been premier during some of Greece’s rockiest economic years.
Born in Athens in 1968, Mitsotakis hails from a political dynasty.
His father Konstantinos Mitsotakis was prime minister from 1990 to 1993.
His sister Dora Bakoyannis was mayor of Athens and a government minister. Her son is the capital’s current mayor.
Tall, slender and uptight, Mitsotakis stopped wearing ties on the campaign trail and courted selfies with teens in an effort to appear personable.
But he is awkward around crowds and has struggled to shake off his elitist image.
At the onset of the pandemic, Mitsotakis earned plaudits for keeping a lid on virus deaths.
But he caused outrage at the height of a strict lockdown when photos emerged of him and his wife on a biking trip on Mount Parnitha, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Athens.
Mitsotakis was pictured standing among a group of motocross riders, maskless and in violation of social distancing rules.
Then last year, an illegal wiretapping scandal targeting journalists and political figures including Socialist opposition leader Nikos Androulakis dealt another blow to his record.
Mitsotakis has sought to woo the conservative base with a tough line on migration.
Greece is a landing point for tens of thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, many fleeing conflict or poverty.
Last month his government earned international opprobrium over footage reportedly showing migrants being forcefully pushed back out to sea and set adrift.
And this week, after a migrant tragedy off Greece in which at least 78 died and hundreds were feared missing, the United Nations stressed: “The duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay is a fundamental rule of international maritime law.”
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