Greek government may call snap elections - report

The Greek government may call snap elections in late March or early April, local media reported.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Dimitris Koutsoumpas, the leader of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), that it is possible to hold elections a week before or after the first week of April at a meeting that took place recently, public broadcaster ERT said on Monday.

As a result, the elections could take place on March 26, April 2 or April 9, it added.

The broadcaster said the government wants to pass at least 30 important bills before announcing the polls and prepare measures that will directly influence the social and economic conditions of citizens, including a major rise in the minimum wage.

The list of party candidates will be determined by the end of his month, it added. 

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'Progressive coalition'

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) ruled out the possibility of forming a “progressive coalition” as urged by the main opposition Syriza party.

The last time Syriza called for a government that would oppose austerity measures dictated by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it formed Greece’s most- establishment friendly government ever, KKE general secretary Dimitris Koutsoumpas said in an interview with the Ta Nea daily.

Koutsoumpas claimed that when it comes to “serving the EU, the interests of the capitalist class and the privatisation of public properties and land,” Syriza as well as the centre-left PASOK party pursue policies very similar to those of the ruling conservative Nea Dimokratia (ND) party.

He added that the Greek working class would never forgive the party’s participation in such a coalition.

Referring to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, he said “Ukraine, and more specifically its people, has become a punching bag between Russia, the US, China, the EU and NATO under the responsibility of its ruling class and the Zelenskyy government,” referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He warned that 2023 could see a wider war to which Greece would be exposed as a result of the government’s foreign policy choices.

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