ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet Friday with a focus on the cost of living and labor policies following his center-right party’s victory in European parliamentary elections.
Despite a recent drop in inflation, polls show that the top concern of most Greeks is the cost of living, as the pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine have contributed to rising prices in the southern European country.
Takis Theodorikakos, 59, who previously held the Interior and Public Order portfolios, will head the Development Ministry, which is largely responsible for monitoring consumer prices.
In a social media post after the reshuffle was announced, Theodorikakos vowed to “fight against profiteering and reduce prices.”
Mitsotakis’s New Democracy party easily came first in the June 9 European parliamentary elections, winning 28.3% of the vote – almost twice as much as the left-wing main opposition Syriza’s 14.9%.
Although this increased the ND’s lead over Syriza in the previous European elections, it was seen as a lackluster performance for the ruling party, which fell almost five percentage points compared to the 2019 results. Turnout was low: almost six in ten voters abstained, and right-wing parties made gains.
Mitsotakis also replaced his ministers of Labor, Interior and Agriculture, and appointed former Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos to replace Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis. Greece is a major entry point for thousands of migrants seeking a better life in the European Union. Most arrive in small boats from Turkey, but arrivals have declined in recent years.
The main portfolios of finance, foreign affairs and defense remained unchanged.
Mitsotakis came to power in 2019, after more than four years of rule by Syriza during the country’s financial crisis, and was re-elected in a landslide in the summer of 2023.
The new ministers will be formally sworn in later on Friday and the first cabinet meeting will take place on Saturday.
