Despite attempts by NGOs to shift the blame on Greek authorities for their negligence in the sinking of the migrant ship carrying up to 750 people on the Ionian Sea, the conservative New Democracy is heading for a comfortable government majority this Sunday, June 25th, according to latest aggregate polls.
The conservative ruling party is still polling at 42%, well ahead of its main contender, the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza), standing at 20%. The figures appear to be unaffected by the tragedy of the migrant ship that sank last week, even though international organizations and the Left are doing their best to blame the Hellenic Coast Guard and, by proxy, the conservative government.
As we reported then, human smugglers crammed between 400 and 750 migrants of various nationalities onto the fishing vessel which eventually capsized and sank last Wednesday, June 14th, just 80 kilometers off the coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula, dragging hundreds to their death.
The official report on the details of the incident by Frontex, the EU’s border control and coast guard agency that coordinated the rescue mission with its Greek counterpart, is still pending. However, the Hellenic Coast Guard initiated its own investigation amid growing accusations that its negligence may have contributed to the tragedy.
The situation is similar to what happened after another migrant ship sank back in February, Greece, following which NGOs accused the Italian Coast Guard and Rome’s conservative government of failing to rescue migrants in time, although the data suggest that all appropriate procedures were strictly followed.
For its part, Athens and the Hellenic Coast Guard deny any wrongdoing and are waiting for the official investigations to conclude to prove the NGOs wrong.
Meanwhile, this Sunday will mark the second and final round of the Greek general elections after New Democracy’s initial victory last month, which would have been sufficient for reelection, but not for an outright parliamentary majority.
By initiating the second round, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and New Democracy—who ran on an outstandingly popular anti-migration platform—will have an excellent chance to form a government on their own, without having to accommodate coalition partners. That’s because the second vote, triggered if no government forms after the first, enables the winning party to gain an extra 50 bonus seats in parliament.
“Greece needs a government that believes in reforms, and this cannot happen with a fragile government,” Mitsotakis said on election night, explaining why he would prefer holding another round of elections than enter a coalition.
By all indications, the “political earthquake” that shattered the hopes of the socialist parties in May is set to be repeated this Sunday, not only giving the conservatives an outright majority, but possibly the strongest right-wing government the country has seen in a long time.
