The leadership of New Democracy party had to withdraw their “super-right” candidates, with whom it hoped to reach the Golden Dawn voters, due to intra-party pressures and the Baltakos case.

Mr Kyriakos Velopoulos’s withdrawal, former MP of right party LAOS, raised concerns in New Democracy party. Mr. Velopoulos announced through his Tweeter account that “after giving some thought to the matter and watching the reactions, I decided not to run in EU elections as a candidate of New Democracy. I feel I have the duty to support everything I believe. I would like to give my sincere apologies to Mr Samaras but my conscience does not allow me to run in these elections”. A few days earlier the candidacy of Mr Thanasis Plevris, also former member of LAOS, was rejected while Prime Minister’s friend Mr. Failos Kranidiotis was the first to be rejected after receiving criticism from the opposition party and government partner.

New Democracy’s list of 42 candidates is a mix of politicians, lawyers, sportsmen, journalists and people who are known to the public through their personal achievements. The ballot includes famous people such as the composer Stavros Xarchakos, the professor of cardiology with international scientific distinctions, Mr. Christodoulos Stefanadis, the poet and painter Mr. Demosthenes Davetas, the Paralympic medalist Nikos Pepas, the piano teacher Elena Mouzala.

Also, New Democracy chose to include people well-known to the public to gain more votes, such as Greece’s Euro 2004-winning soccer team captain Theo Zagorakis, the journalists Mr Giogos Amyras, Giorgos Kyrtzos, Maria Spyraki , Natasha Ragiou.

Mr Samaras during the announcing of the candidates raised the dilemma “hope or disaster” and unleashed a fierce attack on SYRIZA.

“Do we want those who question the country’s presence in the EU, those who quarrel over our stay in the euro, do we want to be represented by those who want to put us in trouble, those who want to tear the memoranda apart and question all reforms? Do we want new memoranda, because some are fuelled by them? No, we want to get out of the memoranda. Do we want Greece to remain stable or let it be swept away in the swirl of destabilisation? I hear some people who want Greece to exit NATO. I wonder if they realize what they are saying. The stake of the elections is not about the party, it is about the future and Greece.”

The Prime Minister also referred to the government’s recent achievements by stating “Recovery has started this year, we have turned economy around. We must safeguard stability. Sacrifices bear fruit…Unemployment has already decreased and we have the debt sustainability ahead of us. What we signify in this critical battle, with whom we signify it and who will represent us rests with the country’s electorate”.