Νέα Δημοκρατία / Néa Dimokratía (New Democracy, ND)

New Democracy is Greece’s governing centre-right party, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has held office continuously since 2019. The party won a reinforced single-party majority in June 2023 with 40.55 percent of the vote, securing 158 of 300 seats, and governs on a platform of liberal-conservative economics, pro-market reform, digitisation and strict migration management. Despite significant legislative achievements, including the passage of same-sex marriage legislation in February 2024, ND’s record in office has been substantially marked by press freedom controversies, a surveillance scandal involving state intelligence, the Tempi rail disaster and persistent concerns about state advertising practices and media governance. Greece has ranked last among EU member states for press freedom in each RSF index from 2022 through 2025, a record generated predominantly during ND’s period in government.

Disinformation and alternative media

ND communicates through mainstream private broadcasters and the press, including outlets in the Alafouzos (SKAI, Kathimerini) and Marinakis (MEGA, Ta Nea, To Vima) conglomerates that have demonstrated broadly sympathetic or compatible editorial orientations. Government-controlled media and state-linked communications have at times amplified narratives hostile to the opposition and critical journalists, including framing investigative reporting as “activist journalism” or foreign interference. The party’s “fake news” law, passed in 2021 and criticised by press-freedom organisations as a potential instrument of suppression, introduced criminal penalties that watchdogs warned could chill adversarial coverage. Disinformation/alternative media DMI risk is moderate.

Foreign influence and external alignments

ND is firmly pro-EU and pro-NATO and has strengthened Greece’s bilateral relationships with the United States and France. The party’s foreign alignments are unambiguously Western and multilateral, with no documented ties to Russian or Chinese state-linked actors. Funding is based on public state subsidies, MP and member contributions and private donations within the regulated Greek party-finance framework. No credible evidence of hostile-state financial influence appears in court or investigative records through 2025. Foreign influence DMI risk is low.

Media capture, advertising and public service media

ND placed public broadcaster ERT and the national news agency ANA-MPA under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s office shortly after taking power in 2019, a move criticised by independent media monitors as weakening editorial independence from the executive. State advertising under ND has been a significant source of controversy: the 2020 “Petsas list”, a €19.83 million COVID-19 awareness campaign, distributed funds to over 1,200 outlets, with independent analysis showing strong skew towards government-aligned media and minimal allocation to critical or opposition-linked outlets, including phantom websites and unregistered digital entities. Courts ordered disclosure of the full list; the National Transparency Authority faced criticism for delayed compliance. The structural relationship between ND’s governing apparatus and Greece’s privately concentrated media landscape — including alignment with the Alafouzos and Marinakis groups — gives the party significant systemic leverage over the information environment without requiring direct editorial control. Media capture, advertising and PSB-control DMI risk is high.

Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity

ND’s period in government has generated several serious institutional integrity concerns. The Tempi rail disaster of February 2023, which killed 57 people, exposed systemic failures in railway safety governance spanning multiple administrations but focused particular attention on the Transport Ministry under ND. By early 2025, the HARSIA independent investigation found the crash “entirely preventable” with available safety systems and identified chronic mismanagement of EU funds; the Supreme Court Prosecutor forwarded case files to Parliament recommending review of potential ministerial liability, with former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis facing possible breach-of-duty proceedings. The Predator spyware and EYP wiretapping scandal, which saw the head of the intelligence service and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff resign, raised serious questions about surveillance of opposition leaders, journalists and civil society figures. The Novartis scandal, though it resulted in politicians from both major parties being cleared, contributed to broader reputational damage. Party funding records show substantial state subsidies and private contributions within formal compliance requirements, though state advertising practices suggest informal influence mechanisms beyond formal party finance. DMI corruption and institutional integrity risk is high.

Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media

Greece’s position at the bottom of EU press freedom rankings throughout ND’s government has been documented extensively by RSF, Human Rights Watch and the European Parliament. The environment during this period has included the use of the Predator commercial spyware against journalists; SLAPP-type lawsuits filed by figures close to the government against critical outlets; state advertising allocated in patterns that reward sympathetic media and marginalise critical ones; and passage of legislation criticised as creating legal tools for suppression. HRW’s 2025 report characterised the deterioration of media freedom in Greece as systematic and flagged accountability gaps in the handling of the Predator scandal. The government counter-narrative — framing critical journalism as ideologically motivated — has been used consistently to deflect scrutiny. Press freedom and harassment DMI risk is high.

Dimension	Risk level	Short justification
Disinformation & alternative media	Moderate	Government communications and aligned media amplify hostile narratives toward opposition and critical press; 2021 fake news law criticised by watchdogs as a suppression tool.
Foreign influence & external alignments	Low	Firmly pro-EU and pro-NATO; no documented ties to hostile foreign actors; funding within regulated framework.
Media capture & advertising / PSB control	High	ERT placed under PM supervision; Petsas list showed strong pro-government skew in €19.83m ad distribution; structural alignment with major private media conglomerates.
Corruption & institutional integrity risk	High	Tempi rail disaster generated ministerial liability proceedings; Predator/EYP scandal forced senior resignations; systemic accountability gaps documented by independent investigators.
Press freedom & harassment of media	High	Greece ranked last in EU for press freedom 2022–2025; spyware against journalists; SLAPP suits; state advertising used to reward and punish; HRW flagged systematic deterioration.