The prime minister must put an immediate end to discussions about a new electoral law. With the system of “second elections,” the most substantive modernizing reform introduced by Konstantinos Mitsotakis has, in practice, been overturned. Any move to change the rules of the political game at this stage amounts to an admission of defeat.
On July 28, Dnews and the program Games of Power revealed the ongoing debate inside the government over altering the electoral system—specifically, reducing the threshold for parliamentary majority to as low as 32% and raising the entry barrier for parties from today’s 3% to 5%.
Reports in recent days, coupled with public statements from ruling-party MPs, fully confirm our revelations. The government is seriously considering changes to the electoral framework, weighing the consequences carefully, though the prime minister himself has yet to endorse the proposals. For now, the issue remains wide open.
Konstantinos Mitsotakis, father of the current premier, introduced a landmark reform during his 1990–93 administration. At the time, Greek democracy was plagued by the practice of governments tailoring electoral laws at the end of their terms to suit their own needs—either to secure a majority or to block the rival party from achieving one. In response, he enacted one of the most important democratic modernizations of his era: he secured a constitutional provision requiring that any new electoral law would only take effect in the next-but-one election, unless it passed with a supermajority of 200 MPs.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, however, has effectively undermined that reform through his “double-election” strategy. Worse, if his government were now to alter the electoral law in its final stretch, it would expose a cynical manipulation of the rules for partisan gain. Essentially, the Prime Minister’s Office would decide what serves its interests just before the vote—and then cut and stitch a tailor-made electoral system to fit. Such behavior shows blatant disregard for democratic principles in a modern European state.
There can be no doubt: any attempt to change the electoral rules now would be seen as an admission of weakness. It would inflame political polarization and deepen toxicity in public life.
In this light, Kyriakos Mitsotakis faces a democratic test. He must halt—immediately—this destructive debate on rewriting the rules of the game for the benefit of himself and his party.
