Greece’s ruling conservatives win parliamentary vote

HISTORY: Greece’s ruling New Democracy party claimed victory in the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday but fell short of an absolute majority to form a government on its own.

In Athens, Greek Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the vote “decisive”.

The result was a huge boost for Mitsotakis, who is seeking a second term and has had to deal with a wiretapping scandal, a cost-of-living crisis and a fatal train crash in February that sparked outrage. public.

Sunday’s vote was a blow to opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, the country’s former prime minister, who called the outcome ‘particularly negative’ for his Syriza party and said he contacted Mitsotakis to congratulate him of his victory.

On Monday, the Greek president will give the three main parties three days each to form a coalition government.

If they all fail, the president will appoint an interim government to prepare for new elections about a month later.