A remark by Kyriakos Mitsotakis about the World Cup became a political message about how major battles are won.

The Prime Minister — just a few hours before the meeting of the New Democracy parliamentary group — visited OAKA and inspected the ongoing works. Among other things, he referred to Spain’s victory, stressing that, just as in football, so too in politics, big names alone are not enough.

“Spain deservedly won. It was the team that played the best football and proved that stars alone are not enough. Teamwork and preparation are required,” the Prime Minister told ERTNEWS.

And without allowing the message to remain confined to the football pitch, he added: “This is something that we should also see in politics. Politics is not only a matter of individuals.”

The reference comes at a time when the government is gradually increasing its pace, looking ahead to the new political season, the formation of electoral lists, and the battles that will precede the 2027 elections.

On the economic front, Mr Mitsotakis also sent a signal that targeted interventions supporting society will continue, provided that the economy maintains its momentum and fiscal targets continue to be met.

“As long as the economy performs well, as long as growth rates remain high, as long as we achieve our fiscal targets, we will be able to return the surplus generated by growth to society in a targeted way,” he said.

The Prime Minister appeared optimistic about the future, stating that he has “no doubt” that the coming years will be very good for the Greek economy and that there are serious reasons for optimism regarding the country’s prospects.

He also made a special reference to the Recovery Fund, estimating that once the projects are completed and an overall assessment is made, it will become clear that these resources provided “a huge boost” to the economy.

Concluding, Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the OAKA projects, where the total intervention exceeds €160 million.

As he noted, stadiums are being repaired throughout the country, while at Ellinikon new green and recreational areas will soon be created and made available to residents of the southern suburbs.

“We have carried out a very important intervention at OAKA, which essentially exceeds €160 million, of which more than €60 million are financed by the Recovery Fund. In 2019, when the Greek people first placed their trust in us, we inherited an OAKA that was in an overall tragic condition, but over time we have carried out very significant interventions, beginning with the repair of the central roof structure, the concession agreement for the indoor basketball arena, we rebuilt all the swimming pools, our swimming facility. The complex with the 12 pools is now the largest in the Balkans. I also had the opportunity to visit the velodrome, which is also being fully repaired. In addition, the surrounding area is also being planted. Our goal is to transform OAKA not simply into a sports facility, because today more than 15,000 athletes use it every day — I am referring also to the two training facilities, which were fully renovated — but also into a place of recreation and greenery,” the Prime Minister said.

“The next major intervention we want to set in motion is to create, in the area where concrete currently dominates, a new park so that the northern suburbs can gain another space for recreation and greenery and so that we can increase the number of visitors to the area overall,” he stressed.

“We have carried out the largest intervention in sports facilities in recent decades. Stadiums are being repaired throughout the country. Ellinikon, which is an area being developed with very strong momentum, will very soon acquire recreational, sports, and green spaces that will be made available for use by the municipalities of the southern suburbs, but not only them. And of course I also want to include the fact that we are repairing many small sports fields located within school grounds. The ‘Marietta Giannakou’ programme, which I strongly believe in, does not only repair school buildings but also repairs all the small sports fields located outside schools, so that we can give our children another opportunity for sports and recreation,” he noted.

Asked whether Greece will host a major sporting event in the future, he replied characteristically:

“That time will come too.”