Sawt Falasteen - Give Greece a 'stable government', frontrunner urges ahead of vote

Mitsotakis trounced his rivals at the last election on May 21, but chose to return to the polls rather than form a coalition as his party New Democracy fell short of just five seats to govern alone.

Having steered Greece -- long an EU economic laggard -- to growth amid global uncertainty, Mitsotakis promises to further cut taxes, increase salaries and bolster public health.

"All the gains we have made must be consolidated and continued," said the 55-year-old Harvard graduate at his final rally at Syntagma Square in Athens.

"In uncertain times, Greece needs a government that will not depend on fragile majorities," he warned.

Opinion polls in the run-up to the vote suggest that Mitsotakis will sail to another victory with 40-45 percent.

If accurate, that would give him up to 50 bonus seats for the winner, facilitating the formation of a single-party government.

- Favourable polls -

Mitsotakis, from one of Greece's most influential political families, had in the previous election come out more than 20 points ahead of his nearest rival, former left prime minister Alexis Tsipras.

Although inflation has been a key theme for voters struggling with high consumer prices, Tsipras has failed to generate momentum with his calls for wage hikes.

His party Syriza is polling at just between 16.8 and 20 percent, and Tsipras' future as leader would likely be in doubt if he were to lose a fifth ballot to Mitsotakis.

With Mitsotakis well in the lead, Tsipras is seeking to chip away at his advantage, with a warning that granting the conservatives a strong majority would be the equivalent of a "blank cheque" for a "hidden agenda" of anti-social policies.

"Our vision is the vision of a country and a society of humanity, democracy and justice," he said, adding that he wanted to build an "economy where the wealth produced will increase and be shared fairly and equally among the citizens".

But whether the conservatives will be able to secure a comfortable majority in the 300-seat parliament, comparable to the 158 seats they won in 2019, could also depend on the number of parties that ultimately make it past the threshold.

- The far right -

The new hard-right party Niki, which narrowly missed out on parliamentary seats in May, is now polling near the required three percent threshold.

Another new nationalist party, Spartiates, supported by the jailed former spokesman of neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn Ilias Kasidiaris, is also polling at over 2 percent.

Mitsotakis on Wednesday went on the offensive in Thessaloniki, the heart of the Greek north where the hard-right movement is at its strongest, to caution supporters against voting for "extreme" parties.

He has even warned that a third election could be necessary in August, at the height of the busy tourism season, if a government cannot be formed after Sunday's vote.

"I hope we don't have to meet again in early August," he told Skai TV Friday, adding that "this is no joke".

- Economic stability -

But voters appear to be in no mood for more ballots.

One in four told a poll by Skai TV that the winner should try to form a coalition "at all costs". Another 34 percent said a cross-party deal should at least be attempted before a third election is called.

The same poll showed that 73 percent would vote for the same party they chose in May.

Nikos Giorgiou, 24, speaking at Syntagma Square, said Mitsotakis "deserves an absolute majority".

"Only Mitsotakis can allow the country to stabilise economically and to offer a future for young people who had gone into exile during the economic crisis," he said.

Of the recent sinking of a migrant trawler off Greece that claimed at least 82 lives, with hundreds more feared missing and unlikely to be found, Giorgiou said he did not follow the news.

Another Mitsotakis supporter Vassilis Papanikolaou, who works in the defence industry, would only say that the tragedy was "an accident".

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST