Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred several times during his interventions at the New Democracy congress to elections in 2027. He did so on Friday, again on Saturday morning after the speeches by Manfred Weber and Nikos Christodoulides, and once more on Sunday afternoon while closing the proceedings. He even mentioned it during his appearance at the European Gulf Forum organized by the ANT1 Group at the Mandarin in Costa Navarino, setting a meeting point with attendees for next year, when Greece will supposedly be in a pre-election period, with May as the furthest possible date.

And when asked by journalists in a brief informal discussion after voting for ND’s Political Committee, Mitsotakis again insisted on 2027, noting that he says it clearly while journalists simply… do not believe him.

From his speech at the close of the three-day congress, it became evident that Mitsotakis is putting the party machinery on standby, though elections are not expected immediately. However, he called on the party apparatus not to wait for the official start of the campaign period. De facto, the ruling party is already operating in a state of electoral readiness — a topic that dominated all side discussions at the congress — alongside party officials’ anxiety over New Democracy’s electoral performance.

Mitsotakis nevertheless appeared convinced of the need for a third ND term, which he described as a national necessity, emphasizing that reforms must continue and pending issues from the past must be resolved, with an eye toward Greece in 2030.

Within this framework, Mitsotakis intends to pursue two parallel strategies. On the one hand, he will continue to frame the election around governance dilemmas and the question of who should “hold the wheel” during this turbulent period. “Mitsotakis or anyone else” is the question, while he also revived the dilemma of who would answer the “three-digit phone number” at 3:00 in the morning if needed — a phrase from his opening speech that drew strong criticism from opposition parties.

On the other hand, Mitsotakis urged party officials to repeatedly highlight what ND has achieved, based on the promises it made in 2023. “We said it, we did it” is the guiding phrase that, according to Mitsotakis, can function as a guarantee of credibility for future campaign commitments.

Not all government and party officials, however, share the same view regarding elections in 2027. Many point out that winter will be difficult, mainly due to the course of the economy and accumulated inflation, and they see autumn — after the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) — as the optimal timing. Mitsotakis, however, believes that citizens will not vote unless they actually see income support measures reflected in their pockets, measures traditionally announced at the end of the year. These concern key social groups such as the middle class, self-employed professionals, pensioners, and farmers, while the TIF economic package is already being prepared.

The present figures and low internal tensions

It is evident that at a time when Mitsotakis is stressing the need for maximum unity, he does not want internal party fronts. For this reason, he did not “pick up the gauntlet,” nor did he negatively comment on any point of internal criticism heard on the congress’s second day, most notably the intervention by Nikos Dendias, as well as the “recommendations” by government officials for rapprochement with Antonis Samaras and Kostas Karamanlis.

“Mitsotakis does not feel that anyone threw down a gauntlet for him to pick up,” a close associate told protothema.gr. With that in mind, he spoke of “healthy concern,” downplaying such interventions.

Regarding the “former leaders,” however, he was rather firm, emphasizing that “history is always written by those who are present and who participate in the struggles.” Along the same lines, the chairman of the Organizing Committee, Theodoros Roussopoulos — who had been tasked with officially inviting Kostas Karamanlis, who did not attend — stated: “Everyone, present and absent alike, has contributed to the party. Those who continue the battle should look ahead and extend a hand to one another. Otherwise, the jersey — which so many referred to — will become an empty shirt.”

Closing

In any case, the interventions by senior officials such as Dendias, Kostis Hatzidakis, and Kyriakos Pierrakakis demonstrate that, despite the prime minister’s undisputed dominance within the party, platforms are beginning to develop with an eye toward the future. And this was perhaps the only truly interesting political development to emerge from an otherwise low-key congress.

Stylis the favorite for party secretary

One significant internal issue Mitsotakis still needed to resolve concerned the choice of the new ND secretary, who will emerge after the newly elected Political Committee convenes following last night’s vote — a process completed without significant internal rivalries and with influence distributed among leading figures from the party’s central mechanism.

The favorite appears to be Giorgos Stylios, MP for Arta and former Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, who does not face major difficulties securing reelection in his constituency and can therefore focus on the central election campaign.

Another name mentioned was Deputy Interior Minister Vasilis Spanakis, who naturally has greater personal interest in securing preference votes, as he runs in the highly competitive Southern Sector of Athens’ second constituency — often described as a “lion’s den.”