The “freeze” of the unexpected election result at the offices of the ND was followed yesterday at the Maximou by meetings and analyses on the causes of the “Pyrrhic victory” of the Southwest in this year’s European elections, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis working out how to respond to the message sent to him by the citizens through their vote or abstention.
This is because government officials, in a first analysis, estimate that the bulk of the approximately 1 million citizens who did not vote for New Democracy, while they had voted for it in the 2023 national elections, preferred to abstain, each for a different reason.
The result produced, however, is the same and Mitsotakis is called upon to respond with policy initiatives. He is not yet ready and, as people who spoke to him yesterday suggest, he needs his time. Already yesterday, the deputy interior minister and “electoral expert” of ND, Theodoros Livanios, made a first geographical and qualitative analysis of the result that shows the significant losses recorded by the ruling party among freelancers and farmers, but also the leakages recorded in the north to parties on the right. In terms of age, however, the New Democracy party also recorded significant losses in the 45-54 age group, while among pensioners the ruling party did much worse than expected.
“Cashier” and stigma
Today, however, he is expected to give an indication of his upcoming moves in the coming period, speaking on Alpha’s main newscast. According to his interlocutors, Mitsotakis will not “hide” behind the unexpected size of the abstention, but will acknowledge the government’s mistakes and omissions. It also remains to be seen whether he will outline a policy initiative he will undertake in the coming period, as the government is at a critical political crossroads early in its second term, whether Mitsotakis wants to “talk again” to those who consciously chose abstention, but also to those who feel “alienated” and preferred a smaller party on the right.
Reformation, but from what starting point?
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ decision yesterday to have a meeting in his office with top government ministers further fuelled the reshuffle scenarios, which has been more or less discounted. Crossing the threshold of the prime minister’s office was his longtime confidant George Gerapetritis, who served in a key role at Maximou from 2019 to 2013.
Likewise, the two vice presidents of the ND, Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Health Minister Adonis Georgiades.
Reports indicate that during these meetings, Mitsotakis provided a detailed analysis of his perspective on events and sought the opinions of ministers.
Also in his office for discussion were other close associates of his, such as State Ministers Akis Skertsos and Makis Voridis, as well as government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis.
Today other ministers will also see the Prime Minister, who will receive the seven elected MEPs of the Southwest at 10:00.
As for the changes in the government’s structure, competent sources report that the prime minister has not made any final decisions on persons and structures. And despite the effort of the official Maximou to signal to… worried MPs that Mitsotakis does not take “decisions in heat”, admittedly the pending reshuffle that has been discounted cannot be left unresolved. In this sense, it is estimated that decisions will be made in the next 24 hours, while Friday’s cabinet meeting will be “without an agenda”. So, the composition is not a given.
Also, a decision that Mitsotakis will be asked to make is whether to include in the pending interventions and changes within Maximou, so that the potential resform does not resemble the game…musical chairs. There are many scenarios circulating in the political arena, from the one of strengthening Maximou with one more person to those of more structural interventions. Mitsotakis, however, has not really externalised his thoughts on the matter to his interlocutors. The truth, however, is that many people living in the governmental Jerusalem point out that, in a scenario of governmental changes, Maximou cannot be left out of the equation. And at stake is not only the faces, but also the operating model.
“Grumbles” and discussions
Admittedly, the unexpected result has brought grumbling from a number of MPs who have stayed out of the bridal party and belong to the more “traditional” wing of the New Democracy, as they criticise attitudes and also persons in the prime minister’s entourage. And a top minister, however, told protothema.gr that the prime minister acknowledges in talks that there is an issue of “grounding” the government with what society is demanding. On the other hand, ministers and MPs from the more “centrist” wing of the government stress that the losses largely come from those who sided with the ND in 2019 and 2023, so a “sharp” right turn would not solve the problem.
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