New Democracy has picked up the thread of its regional tour campaign, starting from Epirus, with 13 government officials dispatched to the regional units of Arta, Ioannina, Thesprotia, and Preveza. The tours began yesterday and the ruling party’s offensive reaches its peak today with a speech by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis in Ioannina.
More specifically:
- In the electoral district of Arta: Minister of Rural Development Margaritis Schinas, Deputy Minister of Health Marios Themistocleous, and Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Kostas Katsafados.
- In Thesprotia: Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni and Deputy Minister of Sports Giannis Vroutsis.
- In Ioannina: Minister of Labour Niki Kerameus, Lina Mendoni, Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou, Deputy Minister of Education Kostas Vlasis, and Deputy Ministers Marios Themistocleous, Stavros Kalafatis, Lazaros Tsavdaridis, Kostas Karagkounis, Anna Efthymiou, and Elena Rapti.
- In Preveza: Deputy Minister Marios Themistocleous. The goal of these initiatives, coordinated from party headquarters on Pireos Street, is to maintain constant contact between officials and local communities and to better communicate the government’s work across each region. In this context, large-scale visits by government and party officials to each of the country’s 13 regions are expected — at least until the elections.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis laid out the axes of New Democracy’s pre-election strategy during his recent tour of the Kilkis regional unit, signaling to party members to re-engage with society and setting an electoral goal of repeating the party’s strong performances in recent elections. “We will settle for nothing less than heatwave temperatures at the ballot box. We scored in the forties before, and we want the forties again!” the Prime Minister declared, sending a clear message within the government and the party — warning that arrogance, negative statements, or behavior that could provoke public backlash will not be tolerated. He also set the tone for reconnecting the center-right with its traditional voter base, aiming to bridge the distance that has grown since the 2023 elections.
MP Stelios Petsas, speaking on Parapolitika 90.1 FM, expressed the view that New Democracy’s goal in the upcoming elections is an outright parliamentary majority, adding that if this is not achieved, a second election round is the only path forward. Specifically, Mr. Petsas stated that “we must aim for a one-ballot result — it’s the opposition parties that are aiming for a second ballot,” and further remarked: “A party with popular roots deep in Greek society cannot partner with people who used to sell hair-loss ointments while being bald themselves, or letters from Jesus.” During the two-day tour of Epirus, institutional meetings will be held with regional stakeholders — including regional governors, deputy governors, mayors, and chamber of commerce presidents — under the coordination of Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeoргis. Party sessions will also take place at the local New Democracy branch offices, with the participation of Political Committee Secretary Konstantinos Kyranakis, General Director Giannis Smyrlis, and Organizational Secretary Stelios Kontadakis. Meanwhile, the president of New Democracy’s youth wing, Orfeas Georgiou, is holding meetings with young party members across the region to mobilize the next generation.
The weight that the Prime Minister’s office places on the Epirus region is evident from the coordinated action of the government and party delegation deployed across its four prefectures, culminating in a political event titled “New Democracy: Ready for Greece in 2030” to be held this afternoon at the Grand Serai hotel in Ioannina, with Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis as the keynote speaker. Hatzidakis is travelling to Ioannina today and will visit the under-construction Ioannina–Kakavia road project, the northern extension of the Ionian Highway. At midday, he will visit Terracom SA, an Ioannina-based IT company developing technology products with an international presence, before attending an afternoon briefing session at the Epirus Regional Authority. The Epirus program concludes with the Grand Serai event, which will focus on the party’s policy positions and development vision through to 2030.
