Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that Greece’s €36 billion Recovery and Resilience Fund would not have been effectively invested without a strong “executive state” and coordinated governance, speaking at the 5th pre-conference of New Democracy held in Nafplio, as part of the party’s broader pre-congress dialogue ahead of its 16th National Congress scheduled for May 15–17 in Athens.

“The year 2030 will mark 200 years since the founding of the Greek state, and ahead of the 2027 elections we must all reflect on where we were and where we want to go,” Mitsotakis said, framing his speech around the theme of a “Modern State for Everyone,” focusing on reforms, public administration modernization, and improving citizens’ daily lives.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the policies launched in 2019 were carefully designed well before the elections, adding:
“This is the difference between serious parties and governments and those who think only about election Sunday and not the Monday after. Digital transformation has proven to be a huge success in tackling long-standing bureaucratic problems.”

He further emphasized that governance must be based on structure and planning:
“If someone believes that €36 billion could have been invested without an executive state and tight coordination, let them come and tell me. Politics cannot be done blindly. It cannot be based on intuition without data. You must dig into the problem. That is what politics for the citizen means.”

Focus on Recovery Fund, reforms, and AI

Mitsotakis noted that many people now take the pre-2019 state for granted:
“We consider what we achieved as given, but it was not at all obvious. That commitment to goals forces us to set even more ambitious targets, such as the challenge of artificial intelligence.”

He reiterated that evidence-based policymaking is essential:
“Politics cannot be done blindly. It requires data, not intuition. The rest I leave to the opposition.”

Government officials defend the “executive state”

Government officials present at the conference strongly defended the model of the “executive state,” presenting it as a tool for faster and more effective governance.

Deputy Minister Akis Skertsos described the government’s goal as “a revolution of the obvious,” emphasizing policies that reach all citizens, from major urban centers to remote regions. He argued that the executive state reduces inequalities and improves daily life through coordination across ministries.

He pointed to a reported improvement in road safety, stating that Greece recorded the second-largest reduction in traffic fatalities in Europe, crediting cross-ministerial coordination between traffic police and government departments.

Adonis Georgiadis criticizes opposition

Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis launched a strong attack on the opposition, accusing it of “toxicity, whining, and no proposals.”

“I am tired of hearing all day the negativity and misery of an opposition that has nothing to propose, and media serving interests that wake up and go to sleep trying to bring down Kyriakos Mitsotakis,” he said.

He highlighted recent economic and energy developments, including energy agreements and fiscal surpluses, praising the government’s performance and saying critics complain even about financial distributions to citizens.

Georgiadis also made personal remarks about the Prime Minister’s diplomatic engagements, referring positively to international visits and agreements, and concluded that Greece is undergoing a major transformation:
“What others do not do, we must do: we must promote our work, because a new Greece is being built now.”