The conservative New Democracy party has voted in no-nonsense reformer Kyriakos Mitsotakis as its new leader. The Harvard-educated economist is expected to challenge Greece’s charismatic Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “We have one purpose. To express all the forces that stand against the populism of an incompetent government,” Mitsotakis told supporters as he arrived at his political headquarters in Athens, AFP reported. The party announced Mitsotakis’ victory after 70% of the nationwide vote was counted, with the new leader claiming 51% of the vote to former parliament chief Vangelis Meimarakis’ 49%. The final result of the vote is expected on Monday. A staunch critic of leftist Tsipras’ policies, Mitsotakis says he champions “commonsense against populism”. “I guarantee that we will soon create a center-right government that will give Greece a reliable alternative solution in government,” Mitsotakis said. The New Democracy party has been without an elected leader since July, when former party chief Antonis Samaras resigned abruptly. The move left Meimarakis in charge.
