Wolfango Piccoli, Teneo's geopolitical advisory — Φωτο: Wolfango Piccoli, director of research of Teneo's geopolitical advisory

W. Piccoli: Mitsotakis plays it safe with decision on presidential nominee

15 Ιαν 2025 13:45 Ανανεώθηκε: 13:45

«Mitsotakis’s choice will likely be seen as a move aimed at appeasing the right-wing faction of his ND and at prioritizing party cohesion over any possible attempt to project a broader centrist appeal», according to Mr. Piccoli.

Today, 15 January, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nominated Speaker of Parliament Konstantinos Tassoulas as the next President of the Hellenic Republic to succeed Katerina Sakellaropoulou, according to Wolfango Piccoli of Teneo.

In his announcement, Mitsotakis emphasized Tassoulas' broad political appeal, noting his election as president of the Greek Parliament three times with significant majorities: 283, 270, and 249 votes. Tassoulas is a member of the governing New Democracy (ND) party and has been a lawmaker since 2000. He has also served as minister of culture and sports, and deputy minister of national defense.

By choosing Tassoulas, Mitsotakis has not followed the path of other recent Greek premiers who opted for presidential candidates with backgrounds in rival political parties. Tassoulas is a figure generally liked among conservatives and not a candidate that is likely to rile the opposition. However, he has come under scrutiny recently for the way Parliament has handled some issues, like a wiretapping probe and the Tempi train crash.

After the recent intra-party turmoil, Mitsotakis’s choice will likely be seen as a move aimed at appeasing the right-wing faction of his ND and at prioritizing party cohesion over any possible attempt to project a broader centrist appeal.

Next institutional steps

The president of the Hellenic Republic, who has mostly a ceremonial role, is elected by the members of the Greek Parliament for a five-year term. As the process for electing the president has been simplified, the voting (likely to take place within ten days) will not yield any surprise and will not have any repercussion on the stability of the government.

In the first round of voting the nominee must secure 200 votes or more out of the 300. This is then followed by a second round, before the threshold drops to 180 votes in the third ballot. If there is still no consensus, a simple majority is required in the fourth vote and, in the unlikely event that even this bar proves too high, a majority of those present would suffice.