Athens is facing a growing conservative backlash as New Democracy comes under pressure ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Greek government has firmly stated that Greece recognises two genders, male and female, after a public health platform briefly offered additional gender options, triggering a political clash on the conservative right.
The controversy erupted after the website of Greece’s National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY), used by insured patients to provide personal information when accessing medicines, displayed four options: “male,” “female,” “other” and “unspecified.”
The additional categories quickly drew criticism from conservative politicians and come at a politically sensitive time, with Greece already entering an unofficial pre election period ahead of parliamentary elections expected in 2027.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis sought to put the issue to rest, declaring that Greece recognises two genders.
“There are two genders. This will never change, especially under this government. That is a given,” Marinakis said.
The Health Ministry described the appearance of the additional options as an IT error and said the company responsible for the platform had been instructed to correct it.
But the incident has become politically significant as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy government faces increasing pressure from its conservative flank.
Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who was expelled from New Democracy by Mitsotakis in 2024, seized on the controversy to accuse the government of embracing what he described as a “woke” agenda.
“Greece is facing a demographic decline, and what the family needs is support, not redefinition,” Samaras said.
He also mocked the “unspecified” gender option, arguing that the only thing left unspecified was the extent of the ideological transformation of the governing party.
The confrontation highlights a broader battle for conservative voters ahead of the next election.
Greece remains a socially conservative country with strong Orthodox Christian traditions, while debates over gender identity, family policy and so called “woke” politics remain highly polarising.
Samaras is also widely expected to establish a new conservative political force, potentially drawing support away from New Democracy and making it more difficult for Mitsotakis to secure the parliamentary majority needed for a single party government.
With both New Democracy and a potential Samaras led party competing for the same conservative electorate, even seemingly minor controversies are increasingly taking on wider political significance.
For Mitsotakis, the challenge is to maintain his party’s broad electoral coalition without alienating its traditional conservative base.
For Samaras, the dispute offers another opportunity to portray New Democracy as having moved away from its traditional conservative roots.
With the 2027 election approaching, Greece’s culture war could become an increasingly important battleground.
