“We will all go door-to-door – two months left – to fight this great battle, as we New Democracy members know how to fight, to achieve yet another great electoral victory on the evening of June 9th.” With this statement, just before the end of his speech at Zappeion, Kyriakos Mitsotakis phrased to ND members for the upcoming weeks. Weeks of mobilisation of the party, led by the Prime Minister, so that ND can avoid the “minefield” of the protest vote that could create a political issue for the government, despite its recent mandate.
Mr. Mitsotakis will be touring as frequently as possible, starting today with his visit to Tilos and Rhodes, and tomorrow his visit to Thessaloniki for the presentation of the anti-bullying platform along with the Minister of Education, Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Similarly, ND members will campaigning with teams in the coming weeks, covering the entire map, as was done in the national elections. At the same time, special emphasis will be given to Northern Greece, where the goal is to limit leaks towards right-wing parties.
“Are Greece and Europe to experiment during these trying times?” Kyriakos Mitsotakis questioned yesterday, emphasising the need for political stability until the polls. Indeed, in an even clearer attempt to rally the forces that aligned with ND in the 2023 elections, Mr. Mitsotakis equated ND’s vote as one calling for his leadership. In simple terms, the Prime Minister’s argument is that whoever wants Mitsotakis as a strong prime minister should support ND again at the polls.
MRB Poll: ND at 31.3%, SYRIZA at 15.9%, PASOK at 13.4%
“Every shadow that could emerge from the ballot boxes can blur and challenge this country’s path, disrupting many of what are considered given today, while it may open a gateway to new adventures. And I truly wonder if the Greeks who supported New Democracy with their vote just nine months ago, if this is what they really want,” Mr. Mitsotakis underlined, who on the road to the polls will intensify the issue of dilemmas to Greek citizens, in an effort to achieve maximum possible consolidation.
Additions to the ballot
Mr. Mitsotakis, meanwhile, took a little more time to finalise his choices for ND’s ballot, which will be announced next Monday. Currently, with the announcement made by journalist and publisher Giorgos Mouroutis, 31 names have been announced, while in the coming days the candidacy of Giorgos Atyas is open to be announced, who was a guest at the Greek Independence Day parade on March 25th in New York. Mr. Mitsotakis is still weighing the candidacy of Freddie Belleri. These days, the scale tilts in favor of his candidacy, although the matter has not been settled. However, Mr. Mitsotakis is seeking to complete the puzzle and some names that will make a difference and will create a more competitive ballot in the European elections. At the same time, the search is on for the person who will lead the party’s pre-election campaign in place of the resigned Yiannis Bratakou.
It is noteworthy that ND was not surprised by the shift of Theodoros Zagorakis to PASOK, after his exclusion from the “blue” European ballot. However, competent sources were questioning how Mr. Zagorakis could have voted against Greece as an MEP for ND just a few months ago in the vote of the European Parliament against the rule of law and immediately after participate in the European elections with a party that spearheaded his support and which was a “flag” personally for Nikos Androulakis.
