Hugely popular Greek PM rejects snap elections and cabinet reshuffle

ATHENS – Enjoying massive support for his handling of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic – even from his major rivals among Radical Left SYRIZA voters – Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he won’t call snap elections nor shake up his Cabinet, for now.

He trounced SYRIZA on July 7, 2019, early polls but said he won’t ride the crest of his popularity to further solidify his standing among voters with surveys showing overwhelming support for his actions, including among the Leftists voters.

Mitsotakis has been urged to call elections to further bolster his standing, said Kathimerini, and to get a fresh mandate for his administration’s hope to restart the economy again just as it was starting to recover faster from a near-decade long crisis that required 326 billion euros ($352.52 billion) in international bailouts that came with harsh austerity.

Mitsotakis has categorically rejected the idea of early polls, given that this will move the country into a protracted two-month pre-election period, sources who weren’t named told the paper of his decision, leaving open the question of shaking up his ministers’ lineup.

The paper said if he does change his lineup he could bring in some rivals from the former PASOK Socialists who served New Democracy in a previous coalition when Antonis Samaras was the Conservatives leader.

PASOK went under for betraying its alleged principles in joining New Democracy in backing austerity both parties swore to reject and what’s left of the Socialists has morphed into leading the center-left Movement for Change (KINAL) that’s politically irrelevant.

The paper said Mitsotakis, to broaden his base, might name former ministers for the former PASOK, Yiannis Maniatis, Ilias Mosialos, and possibly Anna Diamantopoulou, to key spots in his administration.