The government is building its pre-election narrative like stamps in a “passport” of credibility — one grounded in the consistency between words and actions — with the long-term goal of strengthening public trust ahead of the spring 2027 ballot.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made this message unmistakably clear last Thursday at the inauguration of the metro extension to Kalamaria, where he did more than simply hand over another major infrastructure project. Instead, he outlined the strategic direction he intends to follow in the coming months, emphatically reviving the campaign slogan: “We said it, we did it.” Against this backdrop, showcasing the government’s achievements in every corner of Greece has been elevated to a top priority by the governing team — starting with Northern Greece, which traditionally takes centre stage in the planning of the Prime Minister’s Office ahead of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
In the notebooks of the New Democracy party leadership, Northern Greece has been circled as a region of special strategic focus. As party officials at Piraeus Street note, the regions of Central, Western and Eastern Macedonia–Thrace account for approximately 30% of the total electorate. At the same time, it is widely assessed within the party that the policies being rolled out for these regions are the “key” to achieving maximum political consolidation on the road to the next general election.
It is through this lens that party officials interpret the intensive mobilisation being carried out by the party machinery across the 17 electoral constituencies of Northern Greece. New Democracy Secretary-General Konstantinos Kyranakis has drawn up a packed schedule of joint government-party delegation tours, covering these areas from this coming Monday through to Friday — just one day before the Prime Minister’s keynote speech at the TIF.
Operation “North”: the codename behind the campaign
Around 50 government officials are taking part in the operation codenamed “North,” with the senior members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s cabinet having received their “marching orders” for the prefectures of Macedonia and Thrace. Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis is expected to visit Pieria and Imathia; Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis will head to Florina; Defence Minister Nikos Dendias will visit Xanthi and Rodopi; and Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis will tour Drama, Evros, Xanthi, Rodopi and Serres.
Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki will also visit Drama; Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni will travel to Chalkidiki; Family and Social Cohesion Minister Domna Michailidou will visit Kilkis; and Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis will cover Imathia, Thessaloniki A’ and Evros. Rural Development Minister Margaritis Schinas will visit Serres, Kilkis and Pella, while Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos will tour Kastoria. Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou will visit Evros and Grevena. Migration Minister Thanos Plevris will head to Pella and Imathia, while former minister Makis Voridis will visit Serres and Pieria — all as part of a broader effort by Piraeus Street to consolidate the party’s traditional voter base.
Traditionally, Northern Greece finds itself at the heart of government planning in early September. However, the pre-election character of this year’s Thessaloniki International Fair demands a more intensive government presence — both in Thessaloniki and across the wider Northern Greece region — with the Prime Minister’s Office firmly focused on boosting the ruling party’s momentum in constituencies where right-wing voter defections from New Democracy’s base have been recorded.
The formula being followed by the ND Secretary-General differs from previous mass ministerial tours of the regions in one key respect: for the first time this year, a ministerial-led delegation will be present in each regional unit on a daily basis, rather than following the model of recent years where delegations would visit each prefecture for just a single day. With this in mind, the ND Secretary-General has directed teams to unleash a “blizzard” of positive news across every corner of Northern Greece, paired with an outward-facing communications push highlighting the government’s track record.
Within this framework, the selection of areas to be visited by senior government figures is anything but random. Destinations are chosen in connection with informing citizens about matters within each minister’s portfolio — whether projects already delivered with a measurable impact on daily life, or those currently under implementation or in advanced planning stages, with clear timelines and secured funding. Many of these projects, notably, originated as requests from local communities.
Published in the newspaper “Parapolitika”
