Whatever their public statements, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his top advisers in the government and the ruling New Democracy party are not yet decided on the timing of the next election.
But they hope to have made up their minds ahead of Mitsotakis’ keynote speech on economic policy at the Thessaloniki International Fair, on September 5.
Opinion polls, which always show the conservatives clearly ahead, if far from winning a parliamentary majority, also reveal a number of problems, both with the electorate’s daily lives, and the government’s own conduct, without, so far, coalescing around a consensus alternative government.
Government and party officials hope that, one way or the other, the electorate’s gripes will, if not vanish, at least be attenuated to the extent that the promise of continuity and stability, and the contrast with a fragmented opposition, is the main issue in the run-up to the election. The earlier this trend manifests itself – if it ever does – the earlier the timing of the election.
Persistent inflation remains citizens’ main concern. The Finance Ministry hopes that the deal with the main retailers, the supermarket owners – no hikes in basic goods and price cuts from September – will hold.
