This year’s Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) is emerging as a launching pad for the next phase of the government’s strategy ahead of a lengthy pre-election period, with the ruling party banking on the prime minister’s presence to boost its polling numbers and credibility. In ten days’ time, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to unveil the pillars of economic policy for 2027 from the Vellidio Convention Centre, along with the key planks of New Democracy’s pre-election narrative, while preparations for the prime minister’s visit next week are already in full swing. Traditionally, August and the first week of September see Northern Greece take centre stage in government planning, as attention turns to the prime minister’s flagship speech at TIF.
However, the distinctly pre-electoral character of this year’s International Fair demands a more intensive government presence in Thessaloniki and across Northern Greece more broadly. Maximos Mansion has its eye firmly on polling performance in the regions of Macedonia and Thrace, where right-leaning defections from Mitsotakis’s electoral base have been recorded. Against this backdrop, Thessaloniki serves as the first stop in what has been dubbed “Operation North” — with a major event planned at the city’s Concert Hall to present government initiatives focused on the development of Macedonia’s regional units, with infrastructure projects and investments taking centre stage.
Mitsotakis’s agenda during his visit to Thessaloniki
On Thursday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Thessaloniki, where the morning will begin with the inauguration of the metro extension to Kalamaria. He will then proceed to the city’s Concert Hall, where he will first meet with MPs from Thessaloniki A’ and B’ constituencies, as well as already-announced parliamentary candidates for both constituencies. The prime minister is set to meet with Thessaloniki A’ MPs Stavros Kalafatis, Konstantinos Gkioulekας, Eleni Rapti, Anna Efthymiou, Dimitris Kouvelas, Efstratios Simopoulos, and Diamantis Gkolidakis; Thessaloniki B’ MPs Dimitris Vartzοpoulos, Theodoros Karaoğlou, and Theofanis Papas; state MP Nefeli Chatziioannidou; and parliamentary candidates for Thessaloniki A’ and B’, Yannis Papageorgiou, Nikos Papaioannou, and Athanasios Tsiouras. The prime minister will then address an event on the “National Strategy for Regional and Local Development — Northern Greece,” which will be presented by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis.
Who is joining the prime minister on his “special mission” to Thessaloniki
A discussion between the prime minister and representatives of productive sector bodies — divided into two groups — will follow, along with a separate meeting with Thessaloniki’s academic and scientific institutions. Kyriakos Mitsotakis will also hold talks with mayors from Northern Greece. Unlike previous years, when only mayors from Central Macedonia participated, this year’s gathering will also include local leaders from Western and Eastern Macedonia. Joining Mitsotakis on this “special mission” to Thessaloniki next Thursday will be Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, along with ministers Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Christos Dimas, Adonis Georgiadis, Sofia Zacharaki, Stavros Papastavrou, Takis Theodorikakos, Niki Kerameus, and Margaritis Schinas, as well as Minister of State Akis Skertsos, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis, New Democracy Secretary-General Konstantinos Kyranakis, New Democracy Director-General Yannis Smyrlis, and ONNED President Orfeas Georgiou. Also taking part in the government’s northern “landing” are Deputy Finance Minister Nikos Papathanasis, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Giorgos Kotsirasand, and Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos.
New Democracy: Ministers and party officials launch a campaign blitz across Northern Greece — Kyranakis’s plan
As part of this broader government push, New Democracy Secretary-General Konstantinos Kyranakis is planning a wide-ranging deployment of ministers and party officials across Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia, and Western Macedonia from August 31 to September 4 — one day before the prime minister’s speech at the Vellidio. Teams are expected to fan out in a targeted manner, visiting areas where their itinerary will be tied to specific projects and initiatives being delivered by the respective ministries, with the focus squarely on “positive news” for each region. The prime minister is also expected to visit the regional units of Florina and Kozani on the 28th of the month — one day after his Thessaloniki visit.
Mitsotakis: A second visit to Western Macedonia within a single month
In Western Macedonia, the government has been struggling to effectively communicate its track record and policy agenda, partly due to local communities’ concerns over the ongoing decarbonisation programme being implemented in the region. Maximos Mansion is now turning its attention to the area, seeking to highlight infrastructure projects and investments aimed primarily at job creation. Tellingly, within the space of nearly a month, the prime minister will have visited Western Macedonia twice — having already been in Grevena on July 23 for the handover ceremony of the Central Greece Motorway E-65. Shortly afterwards, a seven-member government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis toured the Western Macedonia region to clearly explain the government’s plans, centred on projects and investments with a direct and tangible impact on local communities.
