Greek prime minister calls general election for May 21

Greece’s center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a general election on May 21 in the aftermath of a train disaster that has reduced his party’s long-standing majority in opinion polls. The Feb. 28 train crash in northern Greece left 57 people dead. The disaster stirred public anger to cut a lead by the conservative New Democracy party by about half to 4 points over its left-wing main rival Syriza. Mitsotakis said during a televised Cabinet meeting on Monday that “the country needs clear skies … our work continues more boldly and with fewer compromises.” The election is unlikely to produce a new government.