The first of two book presentations within the New Democracy party generated more news than initially expected. Yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, at the Athens Odeon – opposite the party’s historic offices on Rigillis Street – in the presence of ministers, MPs and crowds of people, a collective scientific volume edited by ND MP and former minister Evripidis Stylianidis was presented with the theme: “Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law.”
The first piece of news came from the absence of Antonis Samaras, which was announced at the last minute through a brief leak from his associates, who spoke of a “personal choice.” It is evident that the former prime minister wanted to respond with his absence to the rhetoric of rapprochement that government and party officials have been cultivating lately, effectively cutting off any such discussion from his side.
The second piece of news is that Kostas Karamanlis did not follow Antonis Samaras’s choice, showing that, although the two former prime ministers align on many issues, they do not march together on everything. He was in the front row of the audience, exchanged handshakes with Kyriakos Mitsotakis and attended the entire event.
Mitsotakis’s sharp comment
The third piece of news concerns the brief speech by Mitsotakis, which was arranged after consultation with Stylianidis earlier yesterday morning, although it was not on the presentation program. It is speculated that this fact contributed to Samaras’s decision to be absent. “As you can see, New Democracy is at the forefront of artificial intelligence overall,” was the prime minister’s sharp comment in a brief conversation he had with journalists at the Athens Odeon.
Mitsotakis’s message for Stylianidis’s active involvement in constitutional revision
In his speech, Mitsotakis spoke with particularly warm words about Stylianidis and his publishing effort and mentioned that “it is very likely that artificial intelligence will be a technological revolution with different qualitative characteristics from all previous ones.” He emphasized the moves the government has already made in this sector, saying that “our country already has a coherent and very well-structured strategy around artificial intelligence issues, which emphasizes the important digital AI infrastructures, which we can now create in our country, with significant European support.” He also announced the government’s utilization of artificial intelligence in specific policy areas, such as civil protection, health and national defense, as well as legislative interventions in the regulatory framework, which will bring Greece to the forefront of Europe on this issue.
It is worth noting that the prime minister indirectly “pointed” toward the active involvement of Stylianidis in the upcoming constitutional revision, with a responsibility role that has not yet been determined. “And, of course, let me make a third observation that relates directly to Evripidis’s scientific interest, but also to many of the chapters written in this volume: Artificial Intelligence and Constitutional Revision. A process that will begin within this parliamentary period. It is given that any Constitutional Revision process cannot ignore the significant impacts of artificial intelligence on our very political and state organization,” Mitsotakis emphasized.
Today follows a new book presentation, with the presence of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. It is titled “The Great Return: The Road to Greece’s Credibility,” authored by Alexis Patelis, director of the prime minister’s economic office from 2019 to 2024. The event will take place at the “Onassis Foundation” Amphitheater of the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum with speakers Yannis Stournaras, Marialena Athanasopoulou and Rea Vitali. The discussion will be coordinated by author and journalist Makis Provatas, while Patelis himself will also speak.
