-Hello, Christ is Risen and many happy returns with health for everyone. Easter, then, with generally good weather and of course lots of people everywhere. Patience until the next May Day long weekend, although from now on that the weather is improving… who can hold back. We all watch the international developments with caution and anxiety, of course, and with many hopes that war will not return. Before we move to current affairs, let me give you, from my sources, a general political picture. Mitsotakis’ plan is, once the current obstacles—OPEKEPE and the wiretapping issue—are overcome, to move into summer and, if everything goes well, without war, major fires, or unpleasant surprises, to “consider autumn elections.” It’s still a bit early, but if you think about it, not really that early—the time after summer starts counting down to the ballot box.

Back to everyday life
-From today, the PM’s office returns to normal rhythms after the short break that gave everyone some much-needed breathing space. Mitsotakis himself returns to his office this morning, while his aides have also been given a general order to be present. A series of critical meetings begins, as ahead lies the parliamentary debate on the rule of law and institutions requested by Androulakis. Mitsotakis, however, does not want the discussion to be confined to OPEKEPE and the wiretapping issue, which the opposition will certainly raise, and is expected to pre-announce the start of the constitutional revision process, with his proposal containing surprises. For example, beyond reducing the number of MPs and the incompatibility of being both MP and minister, even a change in the electoral system (single-member districts and preference vote) is being considered, as well as term limits for MPs and local government officials. Of course, it remains to be seen who from the opposition will agree and to what extent, as things are not heading toward broad consensus.

Heavy climate over OPEKEPE
-I don’t know what government officials recorded during their outings, but the mood in many rural regions is… somewhat heavy, I’m told. Maximos has a picture, as it has conducted local polls—for example, I’m told that the worst-performing region in Thessaly is Larissa. In Thessaly, Velopoulos is picking up something, but PASOK, KKE, and Plefsi have also strengthened, while in Larissa specifically, “Zoi” may even get MP the farmers’ unionist Sokratis Aleifitirias.

Deputy regional governors enter the battle
-New Democracy, however, is looking for an antidote to low cohesion by strengthening local ballots. In 2023, after complaints from local MPs, deputy regional governors—strong local names with tens of thousands of preference votes—were excluded from the ballots. It seems this will not happen this time, and several of them will enter the preference vote battle in the national elections.

Papastergiou to run
-The absence of Katerina Papakosta from the Trikala ballot in the 2027 elections opens the way for broader reshuffles in New Democracy’s ticket in the region. Those who saw Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou during the Easter days understood that he is preparing to enter the race as well. In fact, at noon on Good Friday, he happened to be at a tsipouro tavern with the current frontrunner of the region, Kostas Skrekas, and the “whispers” from nearby tables were going wild.

Serres
-Since we’re talking about ballots, in Serres the exercise is not easy for New Democracy, as for the first time since 1974 there will be no candidate bearing the name Karamanlis. In a recent poll run by ND, it wasn’t doing badly—it was getting 40%—but that was before the second phase of the OPEKEPE issue. In this region, Velopoulos is said to perform better, while there is also talk about Deputy Regional Governor Panagiotis Spyropoulos, who, however, especially during the period of farmers’ mobilizations, was not speaking in the best terms about Maximos and Mitsotakis himself.

What’s happening with Metro Line 4: What AVAX says, what the State decides on the bonus
-New data for the timetable of Athens Metro Line 4 comes with the decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, dated April 7 and signed by Christos Dimas, regarding the appeal of the contractor consortium AVAX–GHELLA–ALSTOM, clearly stating that the actual completion time of the project cannot currently be determined with precision. The case concerns the largest public urban infrastructure project in the country, Line 4, section “Alsos Veikou – Goudi,” for which the contract was signed on June 22, 2021, with a contractual value of €1.15 billion plus VAT and an initial completion deadline of June 20, 2029, that is, 2,920 calendar days. From that point on, however, the major divergence begins. The contractor consortium, in the revised timetable submitted to the ministry, argued that due to serious delays in the handover of sites, changes in the sequence of works, and overall impacts on the critical path, the new completion date is pushed to February 13, 2034. Opposing this, Ελληνικό Μετρό considered that the contractor’s timetable extends delays and incorporates elements not yet finalized. Based on its own assessment, a total extension of 1,171 days arises, moving the contractual completion from June 20, 2029, to September 3, 2032. The crucial point, however, is that the administration itself admits it does not yet have sufficient data to fully assess the extent of delays at key fronts such as the Evangelismos and Goudi stations. For this reason, it states that it is not possible, “at present,” to consider a greater extension than the one already granted, while explicitly acknowledging that the contractor may return with a new request once sufficient data emerges for a proper assessment of delays. In simple terms, 2032 is not a final delivery time, but the maximum extension that the service currently considers it can approve based on available data.

Delays and bonus at the center of the dispute
-The second major issue of the decision concerns the €57.7 million bonus, approved in 2022 as an additional payment for the timely completion of the project. The initial decision of Ελληνικό Μετρό provided for the return of the amount, on the grounds that after extensions are granted, the right to receive it is lifted. The contractor, however, challenged this as well, arguing that the delays are not due to its own fault but to the failure to timely hand over the sites. At this point, the Ministry’s decision substantially differs from its initial stance, stating that the contractor’s request to cancel the return of the additional payment “is, for the time being, deemed valid,” precisely because the delay is linked to the non-delivery of sites by the project owner and not to fault on the part of the consortium. This means that, at this stage, the return of the bonus is not considered justified, as the relevant claim is not sufficiently supported by the actual data before the administration. The use, however, of the phrase “for the time being” indicates that the issue is not considered definitively closed, but is likely tied to the further development of the project and the final assessment of delays.