Greek prime minister calls general election for May 21

Greece’s center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a general election on May 21 in the aftermath of a train disaster that has reduced his party’s long-standing majority in opinion polls

Greece Train Collision (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Greece’s center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday called a general election on May 21, in the aftermath of a train disaster that has reduced his party’s long-standing majority in opinion polls.

The Feb. 28 train crash in northern Greece left 57 people dead. The disaster stirred public anger, cutting a lead by the conservative New Democracy party by about half to 4 points over its left-wing main rival, Syriza.

“The country needs clear skies … our work continues more boldly and with fewer compromises,” Mitsotakis said during a televised Cabinet meeting.

Mitsotakis, the 55-year-old son of the late former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis, has remained popular throughout his four-year term. But more recently his reputation has been dented by allegations of wiretapping by state security services, as well as the government’s failure to protect rail network safety.

The election is unlikely to produce a new government.