The Greek government is shifting back into high gear following the August recess, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his team set to return to the Maximos Mansion on Monday, August 17, marking the start of the final stretch toward the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF). Preparations for the prime minister’s keynote announcements have been underway since early summer, with the core pillars of New Democracy’s pre-election platform already taking shape — a significant portion of which Mitsotakis is expected to unveil personally from the podium of the Vellidio Convention Centre on September 5.
However, Mitsotakis will arrive in northern Greece earlier, toward the end of August, as part of the broader preparation for his TIF appearance — and as a continuation of the political “marathon” he has already set in motion. Through a series of regional tours both within and outside the greater Athens area, the prime minister is seeking to energize and consolidate the center-right base ahead of the spring elections. On August 27, he will visit Thessaloniki, a city being transformed by metro extensions and urban regeneration projects planned for the International Exhibition grounds.
Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet with business and industry representatives from northern Greece, followed by a tour of Western Macedonia prefectures on August 28. In parallel, government delegations will conduct visits across the Macedonia region — a critical electoral stronghold for New Democracy where recent polls indicate a decline in support — through September 4. These teams will aim to communicate the government’s record by emphasizing a positive agenda and highlighting both completed and forthcoming projects in the months remaining before the election.
Prior to these regional outreach efforts, a cabinet meeting is scheduled for August 24. In the coming weeks, the focus will also turn to progress made on outstanding obligations linked to the Recovery and Resilience Fund. All projects, investments, milestones, and reforms are required to be completed by August 31, with the final payment request to the European Commission to be submitted by September 30.
On the subject of Recovery Fund absorption, Minister of State Akis Skertsos had previously told Kyriakatiki Apogeumatini that funds would be absorbed in full — at 100%. “Not a single euro will be lost,” Deputy Minister Nikos Papathanasiou recently confirmed before parliament. Also at the center of government strategy is the National Development Programme 2026–2030, which mobilizes a total of €23 billion in national resources — more than double the €10 billion committed under the previous programme. Speaking on ERTnews, Papathanasiou presented the new programme as the primary financing tool for the economy following the conclusion of the Recovery Fund, arguing that resources will be directed toward projects and interventions that directly impact citizens’ everyday lives.
Against this backdrop, the next 20 days are being characterized internally as a “hot” period for the government team, with Mitsotakis pressing his ministers to accelerate deliverables while — above all — ensuring the government’s work is visible and clearly communicated to the public. To that end, the prime minister has issued clear directives to his cabinet, which form the strategic blueprint for the final run-up to the national elections.
First: a stronger and more sustained media presence, with particular emphasis on regional outlets. At the last cabinet meeting in July, Mitsotakis urged ministers to defend the government’s overall record rather than limiting themselves to their individual portfolios.
In the same vein, following the presentation of New Democracy’s pre-election programme at TIF, ministers will be expected to intensify their media engagement to promote the party’s vision through to 2030. The prime minister also called on them to make the most of the political time available — which he believes is working in the government’s favor — by continuing to deliver results across all ministries. “Time is on our side; the political bankruptcy of our opponents is becoming increasingly apparent, and we have the opportunity to fully unfold our plan,” Mitsotakis declared, setting the tone for New Democracy’s strategy against its rivals. In this context, the ruling party is counting on the resilience of its organizational machinery and broader political base to sustain a prolonged and high-intensity pre-election campaign. At the same time, party strategists believe that New Democracy’s main rivals — primarily PASOK and Alexis Tsipras’ SYRIZA — will run out of steam before election day.
Among the advantages the Maximos Mansion sees heading into the electoral battle is the fact that New Democracy retains the initiative, while simultaneously showcasing the governing party’s team spirit as one of the key factors in achieving its ultimate goal: a third consecutive electoral victory and an outright parliamentary majority. In the same spirit, the prime minister believes there is sufficient time before the elections for ministers to fully familiarize themselves with the government’s overall record, communicate achievements to parliamentary group members, and — most importantly — explain to the public what the New Democracy government has accomplished to date and what it intends to deliver before the country heads to the polls.
