Macron hails Mitsotakis as 'friend and partner' after Greek election win

French President Emmanuel Macron targeted the goal of greater European unity as he joined an array of world leaders to congratulate Kyriakos Mitsotakis over his victory in the parliamentary elections in Greece.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis swept to victory in the parliamentary elections in Greece. AP - Thanassis Stavrakis

Macron hailed the 55-year-old New Democracy chief on social media as a friend and partner of France.

"Let's continue to work together for a stronger and more sovereign Europe," Macron tweeted.

Félicitations cher @kmitsotakis, ami et partenaire de la France. Continuons ensemble tout le travail entrepris pour une Europe plus forte et plus souveraine.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 25, 2023

The American president Joe Biden said: "I look forward to continuing our close cooperation on shared priorities to foster prosperity and regional security. Together—as Allies, partners, and friends—Greece and the United States have championed democracy.

"We will keep working with the government and people of Greece as well as our vibrant Greek-American community in the United States to continue this legacy."

Vote

Greeks went to the polls on Sunday for the second time in just over a month to elect a new parliament. The vote was held in the wake of a migrant shipwreck on 14 June in which hundreds of people are feared to have died off the country's southern coast.

With all the votes nearly counted, Mitsotakis's party won 40.5 percent of the second poll. Alexis Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party was struggling to reach 20 percent.

"Greece opens a new, historic chapter in its course,” Mitsotakis said in a televised statement. "The voters have given us a strong mandate to move faster on the course of the big changes our country needs.

"In a loud and mature way they have permanently closed a traumatic cycle of lies and toxicity that held the country back and divided society.”

He said his party wanted to increase salaries, reform the health, justice and education systems.

Mitsotakis, a Harvard graduate, comes from one of Greece’s most prominent political families. His late father, Constantine Mitsotakis, served as prime minister in the 1990s, his sister served as foreign minister and his nephew is the current mayor of Athens.

He has vowed to rebrand Greece as a pro-business and fiscally responsible euro zone member.