The early elections for the renewal of the Parliament held in January 2015 – after the dissolution of the Parliament in the previous month due to the failure of attempts to elect the new President of the Republic – recorded the clear victory of the Syriza party, in whose political program they resulted central to the request to renegotiate the public debt and the elaboration of a new management of the very serious economic crisis that hit the country following the austerity measures which reduced the purchasing power of the Greeks by 40%, involving among other things costly cuts to the public sector, a series of privatizations and a heavy pension reform. Tsipras’s party, obtaining 36.3% of the votes, won 149 seats, but not having reached an absolute majority for only two seats, he was forced to forge an alliance with the center-right ANEL (Independent Greeks) formation; in second place was the Nea Dimokratia party (ND, 27.81%) of the outgoing premier Samaras, which Tsipras took over, followed by the far-right formation Chrysi Avghì (Golden Dawn), which recorded 6.28 % of preferences obtaining 17 seats. In February, Fr Pavlopoulos, candidate of the Syriza party, who took over from K. Papoulias, was elected new President of the Republic with 233 votes in favor out of 300. which Tsipras took over, followed by the far-right formation Chrysi Avghì (Golden Dawn), which registered 6.28% of preferences, obtaining 17 seats. In February, Fr Pavlopoulos, candidate of the Syriza party, who took over from K. Papoulias, was elected new President of the Republic with 233 votes in favor out of 300. which Tsipras took over, followed by the far-right formation Chrysi Avghì (Golden Dawn), which registered 6.28% of preferences, obtaining 17 seats. In February, Fr Pavlopoulos, candidate of the Syriza party, who took over from K. Papoulias, was elected new President of the Republic with 233 votes in favor out of 300.
In a country severely tested by exceptional austerity measures and reduction of public spending according to the rescue plan granted by Europe under very stringent conditions – this entailing further, heavy cuts to the public sector and an increase in the tax burden – in February the new Prime Minister Tsipras obtained from the Eurogroup l 4-month extension of European support in exchange for reshaping the structural reform program and new fiscal policies. In the following June, a few days after the expiry of the debt installments with the International Monetary Fund and after the failure of numerous negotiating tables, the premier decided to call a popular referendum on 5 July on the new debt restructuring proposals put forward by the creditors, who would have saved the country from bankruptcy but subjected the citizens to further, very serious austerity measures. The result of the referendum recorded 61.3% of the votes against the austerity policy proposed by Europe; soon after, the minister of the economy Y. Varoufakis resigned to facilitate negotiations with the Eurogroup. At the Eurosummit held on July 13, it was decided to start negotiations with the country for the launch of a third rescue program: the continued support of the ESM program, disbursed in a three-year action for a total of 82-86 billion, is was bound to the approval by the Greek Parliament of a heavy reform plan in the field of taxation and pensions and to the creation of a guarantee fund of about 50 billion euros in which to transfer Greek assets, which were then monetized through privatizations. The agreement with the creditors was reached, but the ruling majority constituted by the Syriza party was split, and the third bailout plan was approved with the votes of the opposition; the fracture created within the party prompted Tsipras to resign in August 2015 and to announce early elections for the following month. In the consultations, which recorded strong abstention (45.2%, compared to 36.4% in the previous elections), Syriza once again established itself as the country’s leading party with 35.5% of the votes (145 seats), while ND obtained 28.1% of the votes (75 seats) and the neo-fascist Golden Dawn formation confirmed the growth in consensus receiving 7% of the votes (18 seats); in the same month Tsipras was reconfirmed as premier. In May 2016, having accepted and partially implemented the reforms requested by the Athens government, a new amount of aid was released by the Eurogroup, disbursed in two installments in the following months of June and September, while in May of the following year, to obtain a reduction of the debt and new lending, Parliament approved a new series of austerity measures, with cuts in public spending totaling € 4.9 billion. In June 2018, having ascertained that Greece has substantially respected the commitments undertaken in the three previously approved rescue plans, the Eurogroup reached an agreement in principle on the country’s exit from the aid program, agreeing on a series of measures to support it. during the shooting process; in the following August, Greece left the bailout, and there has been a slow recovery, highlighted by rising employment and mild economic growth. Nonetheless, the European elections held in May 2019 recorded the clear affirmation of the conservative opposition, with ND which established itself as the first political force in the country obtaining 34% of the consensus against 27% went to Syriza, while for the right Golden Dawn (6%) there was a sharp decline in preferences; due to the electoral defeat, Prime Minister Tsipras has announced early elections. The consultations, held in July, confirmed the country’s turn to the right: ND stood at 39.6% of the votes (158 seats), Syriza at 31.5% (86 seats), while the center-left coalition Kinal got 8, 3% of the votes and the neo-fascist Golden Dawn formation did not reach the quorum of 3% necessary to confirm its presence in Parliament. In the same month, the leader of ND K. Mītsotakīs took over from the outgoing Prime Minister Tsipras, while in March 2020 A. Sakellaropoulou took over the presidency of the country.
In January 2019 Greece approved, with 153 votes in favor and 146 against, the Prespa Agreement, thanks to which the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia will take the name of North Macedonia, obtaining the recognition of Athens and allowing the country to have access to NATO and the European Union.
