Hello, back from a three-day break with the next stop at the end of the month when we’ll have the classic first summer three-day weekend of the Holy Spirit and the official start of the tourist season. Of course, yesterday concern over the Middle East returned more intensely to the global community as some hostilities resumed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem we’ll be done with this in the foreseeable future, and that messes everything up, any kind of planning across the globe. Let’s hope this tension is temporary. Otherwise, as I wrote to you yesterday, we are gradually entering a pre-election mood, although as you understand, logically, despite the preparations, at some point if K.M. is asked, he will shut it down and deny it so that the government machinery doesn’t stop working, mainly for one reason: the absorption of the final tranche of the Recovery Fund, scheduled for the end of August. That would be a major problem because the country would lose several billion euros for no reason. Other than that, another poll came out yesterday; roughly speaking, all of them from now on will show about the same 1–2 point differences, with ND having crossed the 30% mark, PASOK struggling around 14%, and we are awaiting the official announcements of the new parties. The party of our long-lived leader Alexis might even be announced within the next 15 days, in any case within May, because especially if Mitsotakis means September, then it’s a case of… run for your lives.

And so, Investigative Committees etc. are a no-go

• And since summer is approaching and we are slowly but surely entering the pre-election stretch, as you understand, this is no time for Investigative Committees, Pre-Investigative Committees and other commotions. Not for OPEKEPE, not for the wiretaps, not for anything. Between us, I don’t even know whether the government will need to activate the provision for 150 votes for an Investigative Committee citing national security reasons. Because I don’t know whether the opposition will jointly submit just one proposal, that of PASOK. Also, something tells me we’ll be waiting a while to see a new case file, OPEKEPE 3. Maybe the next government will see it, I’m thinking, because at some point even Kovessi understands that things have been overdone in terms of political exploitation.

The “blue” dinner gatherings from Mavros Gatos to Lolita’s

• In ND’s microcosm now, the party’s MPs are dining in smaller groups – many are showing up and will continue to show up in the coming days at the well-known “Mavros Gatos” in Pangrati with its excellent lamb chops and burgers. However, a big “institutional dinner” has been scheduled for May 13, again at Lolita’s in Psychiko, on the initiative of Notis Mitarakis and with broad participation – even the parliamentary group secretary Maximos Charakopoulos has been invited. Discussion ahead of the Parliamentary Group is taking place and the grumbling continues in doses, but there is no appetite for anything more at the moment, besides most are starting to sense that elections are approaching. Still, at Thursday’s Parliamentary Group meeting, about 50 people are interested in speaking and we’ll have to see how many will manage, since usually there’s time for around thirty, including Mitsotakis’ comments and remarks. As I told you yesterday, the PM’s office is attempting to de-dramatize the situation.

The pending issue of the secretary

• I asked a serious source of mine yesterday at the PM’s office whether Mitsotakis has settled on a person for the position of party secretary to be proposed at the congress in two weeks’ time. “He hasn’t made a decision yet, he has heard various suggestions both for MPs and non-MPs, but nothing has been finalized yet,” my source, who has direct knowledge of the discussion, told me. Something tells me, however, that this week and especially toward the end of it, or at the latest over the weekend, we’ll see white smoke.

A “slaughter” – a rehearsal for the battle for second place

• Out of nowhere yesterday, a clash broke out which I find very interesting, although in terms of political weight you wouldn’t exactly call it heavyweight. Suddenly in the morning, Panagiotis (for friends, Takis) Doudonis of PASOK and Giorgos Karameros of SYRIZA (until he goes to Tsipras) pulled out the knives, because Karameros posted a photo of Doudonis with Androulakis and spoke of a PASOK–ND “compromise” regarding the Independent Authorities. Doudonis replied that Tsipras’ party is returning to the base of the… conspiracy-minded, and Karameros shot back that he is going back to the days of the “blue, centrist-right commentator” on his late-night show on Action24. A real beauty, as a friend would say…

Kastanidis

• Among those in the know, it was only a matter of time before Kastanidis left PASOK. At Charilaou Trikoupi they hadn’t been counting him in the ballots for quite some time, while his choice—now that he has resigned from PASOK—to support Haris Doukas in the internal party elections obviously played a role in Androulakis’ stance of treating him as a foreign body. Haris Kastanidis is a sui generis personality. Whether one agrees or disagrees with him, he has served the positions he supported courageously and consistently. He has been expelled by Andreas Papandreou and by George Papandreou, he has resigned, he has handed over offices. His resignation from “the PASOK of Nikos Androulakis” – and I would say it was late – came after a series of slights against him. First, Androulakis’ choice to take the A’ Thessaloniki seat, leaving him out of Parliament, even though he came first in preference votes. He was not invited to any party event. When, last April, the PASOK local organization of Menemeni tried to break the embargo and invited Kastanidis to speak, Androulakis’ man in the organizational wing, Iraklis Droulias, exerted intense pressure to cancel it. He even threatened to get the “right-wing” mayor of Ampelokipoi, Kyrizoglou, not to grant them the venue. After all this, Kastanidis made his final decision about a week to ten days ago, when he heard Androulakis speaking at the Delphi Forum, as well as with the amendment to PASOK’s statute excluding candidates who have been elected for more than 20 years. “My decision was also a matter of internal emotional state: on the one hand the party I have served and loved, but on the other I could not endure a series of slights,” he tells his interlocutors. To those who assume he will move toward Tsipras, Kastanidis responds: “There is no contact with any person or party.”

Tsipras – Documentary

• Let me make an initial comment on the SKAI documentary about the “SYRIZA 2015 happenings.” First of all, well done to Varvitsiotis and Dendrinou for their very good journalistic work. The bad thing for those types who governed us – and good for the rest of us – is that we remember, and we remember what acrobats they were and what we were spared from. In my opinion, Tsipras was wrong not to go and defend whatever… he could, to say something, to at least offer a kind of half-hearted apology now for Varoufakis, something, for heaven’s sake. From yesterday’s first episode, I think the highlight of the “SYRIZA 2015 happenings” was the persona of Stathakis. His demeanor and style, zen and relaxed at the same time… tell us what you’re drinking and not sharing, you giant!

A night with drums in Yerevan

• The President of the Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas invited the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, to join him on the government Embraer for the return trip from Yerevan, Armenia, where the 8th Summit of the European Political Community took place on Sunday and Monday, aiming to strengthen ties between the EU and non-member countries. For this reason, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, was also invited this year and had a warm conversation with K. Tasoulas at the leaders’ dinner on Sunday evening. The Canadian Prime Minister told the President that he has warm feelings for Greece, that he knows Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and that he would like to visit our country. The “twist” of the evening was when the host, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, got up at the end and played the drums. The official dinner took place in the grand hall of the Seven Visions hotel, which hosted more than 10 other heads of state and their delegations, apart from K. Tasoulas and the Greek delegation. It is a 14-storey hotel inaugurated in 2023, has swept all the awards, and is considered “the best new hotel in Europe”! It is obvious to the first-time visitor that Armenia is following almost all the other countries of the former Eastern bloc on a path of change and recovery. The once… “Iron Curtain” has traveled light-years since the 1990s, and only in Greek collective memory does it remain more or less in that era.

Mitsotakis in Abu Dhabi

• Amid the new turmoil in the Middle East, Mitsotakis has a trip to Abu Dhabi on his schedule that has not been announced, and this morning it will be “locked in” whether it will take place. It would be his second contact with a Gulf country, following the visit of the Emir of Qatar to Athens a few days ago, while Mitsotakis’ program includes a meeting with the President of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. I remind you that the two countries also have a defense cooperation agreement.

Two – possibly three – anchor investors in PPC’s capital increase

• It’s going to be packed to the brim in PPC’s capital increase. The coverage of the increase is being organized with a Goldman Sachs system so that when the “button is pressed,” the process runs very quickly and is completed within 3 to at most 4 days. According to information, there are two large – and possibly to become three – strong institutional investors in London who will take on the role of anchor investors. Given that CVC, in a letter to PPC’s Board of Directors, expressed interest in participating with up to €1.2 billion, and the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations will cover €1.33 billion, as it has declared a similar intention aiming to maintain its 33.4% stake, €2.53 billion is already on the table. If the anchor investors cover another significant portion of the capital, e.g. another €400 million, then shares worth approximately €1 billion remain for the accelerating book building abroad and the public offering in Greece.

20% to 25% of Swiss franc borrowers made a settlement

• The delay in recording and announcing the Supreme Court’s decision on the calculation of interest on Katseli loans seems to be pushing back a large portion of settlements. The “why” should probably be sought in the psychology of people trying to manage their debt even if they are swimming in an overflowing pool of it. A generalized sense is created that ultimately some judicial authority will write off their debt. Thus, regarding the Swiss franc for example, settlements (conversion to euros under the terms of current legislation) range between 20% and 25%, while a larger portion of those with Swiss franc loans could have been settled. The Swiss franc is also called “little gold” as the currency appreciated by about 14% in 2025 against the euro; at its March peak it showed a 3.3% increase since the beginning of the year and despite profit-taking it still appears appreciated by 1.2% against the euro even today. This means that any delay adds up on the meter, and those who are up to date and want to repay their debt have no serious reason to delay it.

New acquisition of a European defense company by Theon

• Today, along with its first-quarter results, Theon International of Christian Hadjiminas is expected to announce another significant acquisition of a European defense equipment company. This move, according to diplomatic sources in Paris, establishes Theon as the second-largest Greek investor in the French economy. Within a few months, the group completed the acquisition of 100% of Kappa Optronics and acquired minority stakes in Exosens and ShockEOS, while the acquisition of a 9.8% stake in French Exosens, worth €268.7 million, already made Theon the second-largest shareholder of the company listed on Euronext Paris. The new acquisition announced today adds another piece to a puzzle that is acquiring a particular geopolitical logic. NATO members are now deciding on defense orders with a 3- to 4-year horizon, whereas until recently they bought only for one year. This new landscape, which Hadjiminas himself described as a “tectonic shift,” justifies and accelerates the aggressive acquisition strategy. The new priorities focus on fire control systems, technologies for UAVs and platforms, as well as the THEON NEXT ecosystem for the digital soldier of the future, with the commitment that acquisitions will be financed without new shares. The total order backlog has now risen to €2.3 billion with visibility until 2029. From Koropi to Amsterdam and now, as the second-largest Greek investor in France.

Mathios loses sales due to the Middle East

• Mathios Refractories risks facing significant impacts due to the Middle East. The historic company (active since 1890), which operates in the production, processing and trade of refractory, acid-resistant, structural and other materials, warns that there is a significant decrease in demand for artificial stone products, mainly in Middle Eastern markets, where sales are estimated to drop by up to 45%. Signs of slowdown are also recorded in the European market, with a potential impact of around 20%, as economic indicators and investment activity are affected by the broader geopolitical environment. According to the listed company, exports to these markets account for approximately 18% of turnover in 2024 and 19% in 2025, making the company vulnerable to potential fluctuations in both demand and costs in the region. At the same time, transport costs to Arab countries have already increased by around 40%, directly affecting the overall delivery cost of products. Beyond that, the company notes that planned maintenance contracts in Jordan and Israel have already been canceled or suspended.