Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke about government policy, elections, and political developments during his customary, more “relaxed” and informal meeting with journalists this evening at a central hotel in Thessaloniki, just a few hours before his speech at the TIF.

Answering questions about the measures he is expected to announce from the podium of the 89th TIF, Mr. Mitsotakis assured that everything has already been drafted and that the next steps are predetermined, expressing no concern about this year’s fair. “Don’t worry, we also have next year,” he stressed, highlighting the continuity of the government’s work.

Regarding Alexis Tsipras, who had spoken earlier at the Economist conference, the Prime Minister insisted that the TIF is not the right venue for personal confrontations. “That is not the purpose of the TIF,” he said, pointedly adding: “I was at an event on Artificial Intelligence (with OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman), so you can draw your own conclusion about who represents the past and who represents the future.”

“In 2019 and 2023 I didn’t pay much attention to Tsipras—maybe you’re giving him too much importance?” he remarked. He further argued that the centrist electorate doesn’t seem particularly interested in Mr. Tsipras, adding that tomorrow’s announcements are just one step among many required to implement the government’s policies.

“I’ve said elections will be held at the end of the four-year term. The goal is not to gain one or two points next week; that doesn’t concern me. Short-term gains don’t have the same weight as what we achieve by the end of the term. We will be judged on whether we delivered what we promised in 2023,” he stated at another point.

On Panos Kammenos, the Prime Minister only commented: “I heard something…” without elaborating further.

When asked about the possibility of a 13th salary (“you’ve ruled it out,” journalists pressed him), the Prime Minister responded cryptically: “You said it…” adding that this issue is not currently a priority for the government.

Mr. Mitsotakis also didn’t refuse to comment on the national basketball team. “They drove us crazy, but they won,” he said, referring to yesterday’s match against Spain. “We have a good team,” he added, though he avoided predicting whether Vassilis Spanoulis’ players would manage to win a medal.

As for Thessaloniki itself, he noted that the city is a different place today compared to previous years.