2014 European Parliament election in Greece

In the press, the conservative Kathimerini newspaper said that citizens had expressed displeasure, but didn't give SYRIZA "true momentum."[4] The SYRIZA-linked daily I Avgi said SYRIZA's win was "historic" and a "milestone in the political history of Greece."[4] Eleftherotypia criticised the government for trying to downplay SYRIZA's win, and said the result showed voters want "radical policy change."[4] Left-leaning Efimerida ton Syntakton said the big loser was the government, and criticised Prime Minister Antonis Samaras for being more critical of SYRIZA than Golden Dawn.[4] Ethnos said all parties were equally punished by the vote.[4]

Following his party's victory, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras called for snap elections to be called "as soon as possible."[5][6][7] Tsipras noted that if the results were replicated in a national election, the governing ND-PASOK coalition would have only 94 seats, in contrast to the 152 seats they had at the time of the election.[5][6] SYRIZA warned that the result meant there was a disharmony between public opinion and the composition of parliament, and that the government lacked a mandate to proceed with any new austerity measures,[6] particularly warning against water privatisation.[5][6] On 26 May, the day after the election, Tsipras met with President Karolos Papoulias about the potential to hold new elections.[5]

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (ND) insisted the vote was not a cause for snap elections.[6] In a televised address in the immediate aftermath of the vote, Samaras said that "those who tried to turn the EU election into a plebiscite failed."[6] High-ranking ND officials held a meeting on 3 June to discuss how to woo back voters who had left the party, but were unable to come to a conclusion.[8]

Evangelos Venizelos, leader of junior coalition party PASOK, came under fire from several MPs of his own party, who called on him to quit as leader following PASOK's mediocre result.[9][10][11][12] In an editorial in Ta Nea, which criticised Venizelos' strategy, PASOK MP Costas Skandalidis said "nobody has the legitimacy to decide the fate of a historic party on his own."[9] Skandalidis also urged Venizelos to develop closer contacts with SYRIZA.[9] Venizelos hit back at his intra-party critics, calling them "fifth columnists" who were trying to "consciously undermine" him.[11][12]

DIMAR leader Fotis Kouvelis announced on 28 May that he would offer his resignation as leader of his party, due to its poor result.[13][14] However, DIMAR's central committee rejected his resignation.[15] DIMAR and SYRIZA eyed closer co-operation following the vote,[15][16] although a significant minority of DIMAR MPs support co-operating with PASOK instead.[13][14][16] DIMAR decided to choose its political direction at a party conference, scheduled to be held 12–14 September 2014.[16] Until then it was agreed Kouvelis would stay on as leader.[16]

Panos Kammenos, leader of ANEL, also called a party conference due to his party's poor result, although he did not offer his resignation.[17] Instead, Kammenos planned to discuss the possibility of co-operating with other right-wing anti-austerity groups, and offered invitations to several such parties to participate in ANEL's congress.[17] Two ANEL MPs left the party after the election, with one saying the party had "lost its direction."[18]

While Prime Minister Samaras vowed to "stay the course," he acknowledged the government must "fix injustices" and planned a "radical" cabinet reshuffle in response to the vote.[19][20][21][22] Key chances included having Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras replaced with former prime-ministerial adviser Gikas Hardouvelis, and ND MP Argyris Dinopoulos replacing Yiannis Michelakis as Interior Minister.[21][22] Ex-LAOS MP Adonis Georgiadis was replaced as Health Minister by Makis Voridis, a fellow ex-LAOS member.[21][22] Changes were also made to the Education Minister, Public Order Minister, Development Minister, Agricultural Development Minister, and government spokesperson.[21][22]

Makis Vordis' appointment to the cabinet was a subject of controversy, with the Anti-Defamation League objecting to his appointment.[23] The ADL claimed his appointment was at odds with the Prime Minister's stance on Golden Dawn.[23] In the 1980s Vordis led the National Political Union, a youth group founded by ex-dictator Georgios Papadopoulos from inside prison, before getting kicked out for engaging in extremist acts.[23] In the 1990s Vordis founded the Hellenic Front, a party with close links to the National Front in France.[23]

Sofia Voultepsi, the newly appointed government spokesperson, was also considered a controversial choice.[24] Prior to her appointment, she said the press was owned by "arms dealers, Rothschild, and bankers", and that undocumented migrants are "invaders" and "weapons in the hands of the Turks."[24]

The new cabinet was sworn in on 10 June.[21][22]