On May 21, Greece is heading into another election, almost four years after the party of New Democracy assumed office.

That's rare in a country where elections usually occur well before the constitutional four-year term ends.

Political analysts expect the New Democracy Party to win the elections, though it may not get enough votes to form a new government.

What's at stake in these elections? To get an answer to this question, International Business Times caught up with the Former Deputy Minister For Infrastructure And Transport, Ioannis Kefalogiannis, in Athens, a lawyer with postgraduate studies at Columbia and Harvard Universities.

International Business Times: What are the critical issues Greek citizens must decide on May 21?

Ioannis Kefalogianis: Whether Greece will remain the island of stability and security in an unstable and unsafe world and grow and prosper again.

In the last four years, Greece faced one crisis after another: a threat to its borders, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the spike in food and energy prices that revived inflation.

Nonetheless, Greece managed to secure its borders, limit the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and bring inflation under control from 9.3% in 2022 to 4% in 2023. As a result, the Greek economy staged a strong and sustainable comeback from the pandemic crisis, registering the highest growth among European economies.

Meanwhile, the country turned into a regional energy hub, helping ease the energy crisis following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukraine war.

But that's not how the main opposition party of Syriza sees things. Instead, they argue that New Democracy's policies favored the few, the wealthy, not the masses. So what separates New Democracy from SYRIZA?

New Democracy is a progressive party, the voice of reform. It's led by an esteemed leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a visionary reformist who is well respected in the EU and the United States.

Mitotakis strives for a productive, social, fair, and modern Greece where citizens can enjoy better pay, efficient and effective state services, and high-quality public health within a safe and secure environment.

SYRIZA is a conservative party. It's the voice of old fashion ideas, which borrow a page or two from the playbook of socialist and communist systems that promised prosperity for all and brought misery to everyone except party bosses. Moreover, unlike Mitsotakis, SYRIA's leader, Alexis Tsipras, lacks the vision to modernize and move Greece forward.

Greece still suffers from the consequences of an unprecedented debt crisis that broke ten years, like a prolonged stagnation that makes it hard for many families to enjoy a decent living.

How can Greece grow and prosper again?

Growth and prosperity require national security, economic stability, reforms, and investments.

In the last four years, Greece has fulfilled all four requirements. First, it has reversed SYRIZA's open border policies. As a result, it limited the flow of illegal immigrants to the country and EU.

Second, it has reduced government debt and decreased inflation and unemployment. As a result, debt grading agencies have upgraded the country's debt. For instance, in April 2023, S&P raised Greece's debt grade from "BB" to "BB+" a year ago, paving the way for lowering the country's borrowing cost in international capital markets.

Third, Greece launched several reforms that eased and expedited how Greek citizens deal with government agencies and do business (e.g., digitalizing government services).

Fourth, economic stability and reforms have contributed to the resumptions of the operations of companies that have left the country under the old regime. In addition, they have attracted several high-profile investments. Again, the energy sector, where Greece has turned into a hub for the Balkan area, and the greening of the country by easing the barriers to investing in solar panels are two good examples. Finally, I would add the IT sector, Cisco's digitization program launching in 2021, and the fast-track approval of Microsoft's data center.

Economic stability and reforms will continue for 2023-2027, with investments rising by 70% and exports reaching 60% of GDP by 2027 and 70% by 2030.

Then there's support for R&D, which includes the creation of two R&D hubs, the Innovation Politeia in Athens, and the technological park ThessINTEC in Thessaloniki.