Greek Politics
Mitsotakis leans on economic performance in bid to clinch local election dominance
With regional and municipal elections less than a week away, campaigning has moved into gear with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis working to distance New Democracy from the blame attached to his administration for the poor management of natural disasters.
Clash over institutional interference primes political mood ahead of local elections
Although the attention of Greece’s main political parties is shifting to the first round of local elections this coming weekend, the government’s manoeuvring last week - which led to replacement of board members at the country’s communications privacy watchdog – has infuriated the opposition, which is accusing New Democracy of a undermining Greece’s institutions.
Kasselakis starts to open up as early polls show little impact on public opinion so far
Stefanos Kasselakis has given his first TV interview since his shock victory in the SYRIZA leadership race as initial opinion polls indicate his victory has had little impact so far on voters’ views about the parties’ abilities.
Government paves way for major U-turn on migration as opposition warns of interference in regulators
Measures to manage migration, including a major regularisation programme, have been mooted by Greek government officials this week in what could turn out to be major policy reversal for the Mitsotakis administration.
Government faces new storm test as Kasselakis sweeps through SYRIZA
As the government braced for the impact of the latest bout of bad weather, Storm Elias, on Wednesday, the main opposition party SYRIZA was still reeling from the impact of the whirlwind victory of outsider Stefanos Kasselakis in its leadership vote.
Kasselakis names core backers for key party posts amid questions over party unity
The newly elected president of SYRIZA, Stefanos Kasselakis set about the task of staffing key party posts on Monday. His choices offer a first indication of how he intends to lead the leftist opposition, following a whirlwind campaign which left the party establishment stunned.
Kasselakis completes stunning victory, taking SYRIZA into uncharted territory
Stefanos Kasselakis completed on Sunday night his astounding ascendancy to SYRIZA’s leadership less than a month after announcing his candidacy and only a few months before being named on the party’s state list of parliamentary candidates, which marked his first exposure to Greek politics and voters.
Tension peaks as SYRIZA candidates enter last stages of contest
SYRIZA’s leadership race is heading for a tense finish, which suggests whoever wins on Sunday will have a tough job to maintain party unity in the wake of the contest between Efi Achtsioglou and Stefanos Kasselakis.
Controversial labour law set to usher in radical changes to employment practices
New Democracy is moving ahead with draft legislation set to introduce sweeping changes to employment law. The bill, which introduces controversial concepts such as “zero hours” contracts, has been condemned by most opposition parties and labour unions in the latest dispute over workplace rights
Tension builds in SYRIZA leadership race as govt moves ahead with wage maturities
The tension surrounding the SYRIZA leadership race is building, but there seems little prospect of either candidate revealing more about their political positions as they are both focussing on what they claim is subterfuge aimed at undermining their candidacies.