Mitsotakis visit yesterday to Polichni, Thessaloniki, a working-class neighborhood of the city, boosted the morale of the prime minister’s associates, who were confronted with perhaps a better-than-expected reception. However, the prime minister’s speech also contained a series of politically interesting points, with one of the most notable being the fact that he directly targeted Stefanos Kasselakis, who argued in favor of early elections in an article in Kathimerini.
“Wasn’t he the one who, just a few days ago, in an interview, who set the benchmark at 17%, which SYRIZA received in the national elections? Now he comes and acknowledges that it will be the second party by a large margin, but at the same time he calls for national elections. Why? To destabilise the country? We won’t do him the favor,” Mr. Mitsotakis emphasised meaningfully, adding that elections will take place at the end of the term and the European elections will confirm the political dominance of the ruling party.
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Targeting Mr. Kasselakis is not unreasonable, in that it is according to real data polls indicating an ‘opening’ of the gap between SYRIZA and PASOK for the second position, on the other hand, ND needs an opponent to shape a political ‘duopoly.’ After all, historically, there have been no elections without an opponent for the front-runner, and Mr. Kasselakis is an ‘easy’ target for Maximos Mansion. According to government officials, the president of SYRIZA embodies toxicity, seeking to reintroduce it through the ‘window,’ in contrast to Mr. Mitsotakis, who heralds the path of continuing reforms that have a tangible impact on citizens’ everyday lives. “You elected us nine months ago to make your daily lives better, and we are implementing our program with absolute dedication to what we have committed,” Mr. Mitsotakis emphasised.
In addition, the Prime Minister, targeted Mr. Kasselakis for another reason: the inconsistency of his demand for Greeks abroad to vote in national elections with his stance on postal voting, as SYRIZA voted against the provision for European elections when Interior Minister Nikos Kerameos added the parameter for national elections in order to gather the necessary 200 votes.
