>> will the prime minister of greece be able to form a new government? his party won the general election. but fell short of a majority. so after years of economic and financial turmoil, what does this mean for the country's future? this is "inside story." >> hello. welcome to the program. i'm adrian finnegan. greek prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis wants the government for another four years.

and voters it would appear want him to lead as well. although the new democracy party was the clear winner in sunday's election with more than 40% of the vote, it failed to win an outright majority. greece is expected to grow its g.d.p. this year and the party has promised to lift further the economy. but voters, especially the young, say they've yet to see any benefits. so what's next for greek politics? and is the opposition party still relevant? we'll look into all these questions with our guests in just a moment. but first, a report from al jazeera. reporter: a landslide victory that even surprised the winning party. with more than 40% of the vote, the prime minister and leader of the new democracy party kyriakos mitsotakis, says he's ready to begin a second term. but before that, another round of voting. the party did not secure an outright majority. and mitsotakis has rejected

forming a coalition saying his party can secure the 170 seats it needs to control parliament in a second round of voting. >> my hope is that we can have new elections as soon as possible. it's my prediction that the formation of a coalition government won't happen at this time. we're looking at june 25. reporter: the high cost of living in greece is on most people's minds. the minimum monthly wage is about $800. and voters like 28-year-old edini said prospects are limited. >> there are days when i come back from a 12-hour shift, my partner the same and we calculate what we made during those 12 hours compared to other european countries. and i get depressed. i feel a sense of futility. reporter: frustration among young voters may have fueled the lack of support for the leftist party that got about 20% of the vote. it governed greece at the peak of its debt crisis in 2015. >> given the fact that during the crisis, we have had almost half a million people, the

majority of who were young people, live in the country and exiting in order to find better opportunities. but their living conditions abroad, i think they don't have now this luxury of being indifferent toward the younger generation. reporter: despite the struggling economy, greece has made financial gains. many believe that helped outweigh outrage over a rail crash in february that killed dozens of people. and accusationers the prime minister orchestrated the phone tapping of political rivals and allies. >> i'm satisfied with the election result. i expected the party to win but not by such a wide margin. i don't believe it will be any different in the second round of voting. more than a decade after bailouts pulled greece from the brink of bankruptcy, the court's economy has rebounded. and is close to regaining its investment grade rating. now voters are waiting for the government to deliver on its

promises and ensure they also will benefit from those financial gains. for "inside story." >> so let's bring in our guests from rome we're joined by george sagopolis, lecturer from athens we're joined by the executive director at the institute of international relations, greece and former greece program manager to nato. and from brussels, the secretay of international movement and former member of the u.k. parliament. welcome to "inside story." george, let's start with you. how do you explain this thumping, 20-point win for new democracy? despite the wiretapping scandal, the anger as we heard over the train crash earlier this year, why did voters give prime minister mitsotakis such a resounding vote of confidence?

>> to start with, it is a personal success of the prime minister, kyriakos mitsotakis. and you just mentioned the problems which are existing indeed. but at the same time, most greeks' values -- greeks value, greece's economy is rather stable. and while at the same time, taxes are going down. and this is what matters at first for a country like greece which is recovering from an economic crisis. at the same time, most greeks believe that the most important problems right now which is high prices, high inflation, also post-bold stabilization of the economy are problems that the entire world is encountering and the greek government, the greek prime minister, is making -- in order to place them under control. so all this along with some important resources, more

importantly, digitalization which is one of the most important successes of the current government led to the result of last. >> describing sunday's result as an earthquake but was it in political terms on a turnout of what, 61%? >> yeah. yeah, that's right. i mean, 60% is high and low at the same time. i would say. but still is a majority. and mitsotakis is right. maybe -- not an earthquake but certainly a very strong message that he should continue the -- what he started in his first term. and he's pursuing the policy of economic stabilization and growth. and i mean, he's very good at doing this. and apparently greek voters approved the management that he had in the previous term. >> so petros, is it all down to the economy? why did the wiretapping scandal, the anger over the train crash,

not appear to touch mitsotakis and his party? to a certain extent, voters hold their nose when they chose new democracy in the polling booths pushing aside concerns about things like perceived democratic backsliding in favor of economic stability. >> well, after 10 years of dr drama, the stability, the weakness the country, the economic collapse and the exit door of the european union, the last few years have been stable by comparison. so i think the majority of the greek voters were exhausted by what preceded and as the previous speakers have said, economic was more important to them than other scandals like the wiretapping one that isn't a

threat to democracy but was in secondary by most voters. >> george, i can see that the voters would prefer economic stability. but why did so many voters who would normally have voted left or center left appear to vote center right in this election? >> well, at first, it also related to the performance of the main opposition party, the leftist syriza party, which didn't do well at all during the election. and the main region, and during the re-election campaign, as well as the fact that the party didn't really renew its personnel and didn't bring new ideas to politics, and were factors that influenced the voters not to vote for this lefty party in sunday's election. and in the past, the leader of the main opposition and former prime minister alexis kepras, used to be an advantage for the

party and now he seems to be a disadvantage for the party. many greek citizens are tired of too much talk and little action and at the same time, it is a party that also governed for four years and a half and people don't effect the fact that the middle class was practically destroyed during the years of the syriza administration and the fact that the party really does not have fresh ideas about how to energize the economy is another factor. and also it's important to mention when you are referring to the social democratic spectrum that another party, the traditional social democratic party in greece, did quite well in the election because a new promising leader, former member of the u.n. parliament. so the big debate now in greece is who might lead the center-left in the future? i believe also this will be quite significant for the second round of the election that takes place next month. because the winner of the election will be clearly new democracy and prime minister

kiser kiser. >> george, if the second round of voting proves just as disastrous for syriza, will the days of alex jis cipras as leader of the party be numbered? >> well, certainly, yes. he bears responsibility for the problems. and bears responsibility for the fact that during four years of the administration of kizer kizer -- kyriakos mitsotakis he didn't get the message of 2019 and therefore he failed to g get -- what he had promised or perhaps before the election. however, at the same time, it's important to mention that even if cipras did -- does not do well in the election next month the other center-left -- the social democratic party might make gains. and the traditional opponent of new democracy. so i expect that it will be very, very interesting, concerning the lead in this

spectrum of the center-left in greece which practically -- needs leaders for the years to come because the prime minister and conservative party will have the option of the majority so the opposition will be very important for greece's domestic politics. >> to what extent do voters still blame cipras and syriza for that u-turn after winning on a mandate to resist authority back in 2015 and yet ushering in just that? >> yeah. i think -- i think that the -- condemned syriza for what they did in the past despite the fact that -- favor in the past. and you know, in the preelectoral discourse, syriza and the specific members of the party, prominent members, they came out with the idea about alternative currencies let's say. meaning that they would even -- even ready to discuss the --

greece leaving the euro zone again which is something that greeks look at nightmarish scenario. so this of course weighs on the decisions. and they prefer continuity. because mr. miss tax' government over the -- over kizer kizer government over the years and this is what happened. so finally, they disapproved what the cipras and syriza supported during the electoral campaign. and i would also add another dimension. a as we are talking about stability and security, i would add that elections in turkey also weighed in a way to greek voters' choice. because you have from the other side not changed so most probably greeks who vote for

security. >> petros, picking up on that, on security, how much do greeks cherish membership in the european union and nato membership? >> indeed, support for e.u. members is very high in greece. and the -- even during the sovereign debt crisis. greeks are instinctively pro-european not just because of the economic benefits of e.u. membership or security member and benefits that might come with it, but they do subscribe to the fundamental values that underpin european integration. to a large extent, very similar to greek values. so this is very important to be a member and be part of europe. be part of the -- and mr. mitsotakis' government was able to restabilize the relationship in brussels after the -- the arguments that almost led to divorce during the

government and reall remember how mr. mitsotakis -- his fellow finance ministers in brussels. so that ended. there was a calm and relationship based on trust between mr. mitsotakis and the leadership of the e.u. tuitions. and even though there are problems, i think fact also that mr. mitsotakis comes from the same political family where the president of the european commission comes and other leading figures within the e.u. institutions, that -- and facilitiing the financial support of the e.u. gave to greece after the pandemic, but also other relationships that definitely helped greece upgrade the status as a reliable and forward-looking member of the european union. >> all right. petros, it's important for people to be part of the e.u. what about the single currency zone? back in the battle bad old days of when the recession was really biting, and the country nearly

tumbled out of the single currency. >> those two came hand-in-hand. it became clear to greeks that if you're not in the single currency it will be difficult to remain in e.u. as well. and again, having the euro, having a stable strong currency, has a lot of symbolism for greeks. and at the heart of the european project e so very few despite the fact that the currency might not be as popular as membership itself. because associated with higher prices and of course the sovereign debt crisis that we experienced in the past again, and nevertheless, they suspend belief that if we are to remain in the european union we must also remain part of the currency union underpins it. and for that reason, any proposition or even insinuation that greece would consider an alternative currency arrangement is anathema for most greeks. >> and to pick up on something you were saying a few moments

ago about security, of course, voters in this election made it clear they wanted economic stability. but they also want security. and you mentioned turkey of course. in that. is there a feeling among voters that prime minister mitsotakis is taking a much firmer line on turkey than any other party would? >> yeah. indeed. because mitsotakis as my colleagues said, has very good relations with the e.u. and greece, during the last years, built a very good relationship with the u.s. as well. so it's a very strong relationship. also accompanied by military installations by u.s. presence in greece, vessels and aircraft and so on. so this is a security umbrella that i believe my compatriots very much appreciate. >> george, will mitsotakis get the outright majority that he

wants in a second round? is this a gamble for him? how could turnout perhaps affect the result? >> it seems highly likely and that's why practically he did not want to cooperate with others and for the coalition government after the sunday election. because -- find another partner and build a coalition government. but he believes that the message that was sent last sunday is clearly a message that will lead him to win the next election and the electorate will be different next time. it will be based on proportion naulty and this -- proportionality and this means the first party, performance, very likely that the new democracy party of mr. mitsotakis will be able to govern alone. and those -- political

stability, i don't think that there is any real chance for the conservatives not to get the absolute majority. by contrast, i would say that the election is more important for the center-left and who might lead the opposition in greece. because as i said before, it will be very important for a democratic country like greece to have an opposition, a main opposition that will be able to offer sincere and reliable alternatives and do it in sincere and good debate in the greek parliament. >> george, does that mean that pasok then will go back to where it was quite used to being before it was eclipsed by syriza and be in this case the main opposition party from now on? >> well, this is the objective of the election of june to see what extent the center-left political spectrum, not to trust cipras and mitsotakis but to

trust the leader of pasok and the party. this party has managed to renew its political personnel. and obviously persons are new entities and the ambition of the party to make political changes and to bring new ideas. so i think that the party is right now formulating its political communication campaign ahead of the new election in order to be able to persuade citizens that they need to vote for him in order to have a career -- in order for -- to be empowered in parliament, to have an opposition against the governing new democracy. >> and party officials said after sunday's result that alexis cipras would press ahead with an immediate change of strategy. what does he need to do to pull voters back and surely there's not enough time for him to do so

now between today and the runoff? >> i don't think they can monitor -- to propose a very different approach. i mean, to what they said. i mean, during this campaign. maybe they will promote other persons. there is a good team in syriza. and certainly cipras is to blame for the failure because he is the center in this party. so i would not be surprised if they push other persons to support the party during the campaign. but i cannot expect -- we cannot expect very radical changes in the discourse. and the time is too short for that. >> petros, has life under mitsotakis in the last four years improved for the greek electorate, the country still has a huge national debt, wages

are pretty low compared to elsewhere in europe, unemployment is still relatively high, not nearly as bad as it was? many greek households still struggle to get by levels of poverty and social exclusion are among the highest in europe. why would anyone vote for new democracy and not pasok? >> well, when you have reached rock bottom, the only way is up. so in many cases, greeks felt that any improvement is good enough. but on your question, i think new democracy was better in distancing itself from the past and changing the personnel than was pasok which was the last one left holding the ball before the collapse of the currency and the economic situation in greece as you remember. so blame to a greater extent than new democracy was and haven't been able to detoxify

the brand even though they attempted serious branding, rebranding not so long ago. but still and the economic indicators for greece have improved significantly. we've seen that unemployment has been reduced. inflation compared to other parts of the european union is under control. also the investment for greece is much better. and that gives -- and even though they see that their everyday life is improving, and the purchasing power is reducings, they do look around and they have -- more hope about the future and mr. mitsotakis has been able to articulate that those small improvements were due to his premiership. and that's something that the opposition wasn't able to do well enough to point out that

life is still quite hard. and that made a huge difference in their country and population, crisis the last 10 years. >> let's put that to george the comment there petros you made about greece being at rock bottom and there was nowhere else for it to go. to what extent george are mitsotakis and his policies the reason why greece's economy is growing at twice the euro zone average? the country was down and very nearly out from near bankruptcy. wouldn't any party have managed to get greece on its feet again regardless of policies there was only one way to go or did the country need someone like mitsotakis? >> well, to start with, you would say that even from 2019, the greek economy had started to get stabilized even under syriza. because syriza in the first six months of 2015, played a very bad game for greece's economic future. but then it decided the bailout

and meant -- so mitsotakis took over from there. from a moment during which greece's economy was quite stabilized. and indeed, he managed to improve some indicators despite serious problems, the covid-19 pandemic and also the conflict in ukraine. however, greece's economic future also does not necessarily look bleak because beyond the quantitative analysis of the indicators, we should also place attention into the quality and looking at the number of greece's debt, for example, it is now over $400 billion for the first time. and this is obviously not very encouraging. and also obviously yes greece, it can act as the -- but if the new government attempts to go in a manner that will be -- and

governments before 2010, it will be very problematic in the medium and long term. so we have to be very, very careful. >> would you agree with that? >> yeah, absolutely. i agree. and i would also say that above all economic policy is -- euro zone rules. you cannot escape. that was the lesson. due to the relaxation of euro zone, this greek government could afford and make some spending in favor of the most -- of the weakest let's say categories of the population. but still, i mean, the problems are here. and any government would have to address. i mean, if we -- we come back, i mean, to the economy, this is something not to forget. and for this, the consensus from the opposition, and to agree with george, i mean, the

opposition, the -- and the party that's emerging as again very reliable force in the oppo opposition, may agree or not on a basis of economic recovery. >> i'm sorry to cut you short. i want to get one more question in to petros. petros, how long before the 500,000 or so young people, most of whom were educated to a degree, masters or ph.d. level who left the country when its economic problems began, how long before that vital generation decides that greece has improved enough for them to return? >> i have fear that that might be a lost cause. as we have seen, immigration, people don't return in great numbers. and the mention, and there's still a lot of challenges of the greek economy is facing.

and mr. mitsotakis needs to prove himself and his government needs to make sure that whatever economic successes and how much they have improved, those improvements need to be felt in the pockets of people in their everyday life. and unless that happens, those greeks that left the country during the crisis are not going to -- are not going to return. so the jury is still out. it was a big victory for new democracy. but they do need to deliver now. and the strongman date about to receive. because things can turn very quickly in greek politics. and everybody is watching both. the greek population and also greek's partners in europe and beyond. >> ok. i'm afraid we must leave it. many thanks to all of you for being with us. george segopulus, petros, as always, thank you for watching. don't forget you can see the program again at any time by going to the website of al jazeera.com. for further discussion, join us at our facebook page.

you'll find that at face facebook.com/ajinsidestory and join the conversation on twitter @ajinsidestory from me adrian finnegan and the team here in doha thank you forrening with us. bye for now. for

[phone ringing] [dongseop speaks in korean] - loves thiattention. he . [dongseop speaks in [laughing] when the phone rings, my stomach starts hurting. here we are again, dumb dumb against the world. my brain right now is actually scanning every single little thing that can go wrong beuse of thishow and it's everything i ever wanted, recognition for this decade of hard work. yes, here is korea, but give me this little 10 by 10 room. come on.