The return of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his close associates to Maximos Mansion after the Christmas break brings the planning of initiatives ahead of the new year, with the 2027 national elections now on the horizon.
In any case, developments regarding the farmers’ mobilizations largely determine the next moves of the government’s planning. Within this framework, January’s polls are awaited with exceptional interest to determine the extent to which the government’s image was affected by the rift with the agricultural sector. In this environment, observers of developments estimate that farmers’ decisions for further escalation of agricultural mobilizations may influence the Prime Minister’s decisions for the final “act” of changes in the government scheme on the road to the 2027 elections.
January cabinet reshuffle: The ministers considered “certain” to see the exit door and Mitsotakis’s difficult decisions
There are many New Democracy officials who, in their discussions, anticipate that the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Kostas Tsiaras, may find himself outside the government. As is customary, during periods of great tension with specific social groups, the responsible government official is “sacrificed” with the aim of lowering tensions and emotions. In this climate and barring a shocking unforeseen event that would possibly impose major changes in the government scheme, information coming from behind the scenes indicates that in Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s mind, February constitutes the ideal time for the last reshuffle of his second government term. However, depending on developments, the scenario that changes could come earlier, even within January, is not categorically rejected.
From this perspective, Maximos Mansion focuses on promoting government work with an eye to reversing the climate in local communities, particularly in the regions where New Democracy appears weakened compared to the percentages recorded in Attica. The choice of tours by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and government officials, indeed on the road to the “blue” congress of spring, is expected to contribute to the goal of promoting government and party excursions to every region of the country. At a time when citizens will see in their “pocket” from New Year’s Day the economic measures that the government has launched with the central goal of strengthening income as the only capable response to high prices.
The government’s percentages, according to the latest published polls, are close to the psychological threshold of 30% in voting intention. This element makes several “blue” MPs argue that a victory like that of 2023 can be repeated, when New Democracy, before taking 41% at the polls, appeared slightly above 30% in polls. However, many officials express pessimism about achieving the goal of autonomy in the given time frame, as they see that the government appears wounded on several fronts. At the same time, the prediction gaining ground that repeat elections will be needed to form a government seems to harm the government narrative and creates conditions for a “protest vote” in national elections.
Regarding the reshuffle, everything indicates that Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be called upon to make difficult decisions. The Prime Minister has shown that he is not “averse” to sweeping changes in the ministerial council, however in ministries where irregularities are recorded, a “change of guard” will inevitably occur. In this context, a simultaneous evaluation of the government bench is expected, with New Democracy MPs who have supported the government being preferred. At the same time, Andreas Loverdos, with references to the centrist space of PASOK-origin voters who recently joined New Democracy, also constitutes one of the choices for entry into the government scheme, as does former minister Euripides Stylianidis. A “massacre” is anticipated at the deputy minister level, where the element of geographical distribution will also be taken into account.
What comes after the completion of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee for OPEKEPE
It is also estimated that after the completion of the Parliamentary Investigation Committee for OPEKEPE, Mr. Mitsotakis will utilize committee members who carried the burden in recent months. In the economic staff, Kyriakos Pierrakakis’s election to the Eurogroup largely highlights the need for strengthening at the personnel level, with the replacement of deputy Nikos Papathanasis considered possible, as the “Big mouth” column had reported. Correspondingly, according to the same information, the Maximos Mansion team remains unchanged with Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, and ministers Akis Skertsos and Giorgos Mylonakis, as well as the Prime Minister’s secretary Stelios Koutnatzi, remaining “at their posts.”
Published in the newspaper “Parapolitika.”
