In a closed-door meeting at the Maximos Mansion, after Maria Karystianou and Alexis Tsipras had already announced the formation of their new parties, close associates and advisors of Kyriakos Mitsotakis waited with intense interest to hear what the prime minister would tell them about the new political landscape that is now taking shape.
The Maximos meeting and Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ message to his associates
Kyriakos Mitsotakis preferred to steer the discussion elsewhere. “I know that in the coming days on panels they will mainly ask us about the new parties,” he noted. “I prefer to talk about the government’s work, about our achievements, about what we will do. These are what interest people,” he continued.
The political scene that has formed during this period is unprecedented for the years of the post-junta era – even for the decade of the debt crisis, when many parties appeared, emerged and disappeared shortly after. In the opposition there are now seven parliamentary parties (PASOK, SYRIZA, KKE, Greek Solution, New Left, “Victory” and Course of Freedom), one more with presence in Parliament (Democrats – Progressive Center), another with presence in the European Parliament (Voice of Reason), a former parliamentary party with hopes in polls to re-enter Parliament (MeRA25) and two newly appearing parties (Hope for Democracy and Greek Left Alliance) – perhaps soon another one, with Antonis Samaras as founder. Twelve parties in total, about which the prime minister mentioned recently that there is common ground, “for this government to leave and for Mitsotakis to leave as prime minister,” emphasizing that “this does not constitute, however, an alternative political proposal”.
K. Mitsotakis will appear as the guarantor of political stability and New Democracy as the only party that speaks for the future
“We said it, we did it and we will do more” – The narrative towards 2027
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as his associates emphasize, has decided, in view of the 2027 elections, to speak to citizens and for the government to continue unfolding its plan for the next day. “The logic on which the prime minister will move in the coming months, continuing his tours throughout the country, is summarized in the phrase ‘We said it, we did it and we will do even more’. We estimate that this comparison with the opposition, which today is fragmented, in turmoil – especially on the Left, which has become highly divided – and with new parties being created continuously, will be reflected in the 2027 elections, as citizens want two things in turbulent times: stability and, mainly, prospects,” the same associates point out.
The prime minister’s will is specific and simple: to make the most of the fact that he is in power and, therefore, can present samples of applied policy, but also to present on every opportunity the planning for the future: from hirings in Education and Health to metro extensions in Athens and Thessaloniki and from new reductions in insurance contributions to the utilization of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector.
Stability against opposition fragmentation
In other words, to constantly appear as the guarantor of political stability and as the only party that speaks about the future, with a concrete plan and realistic proposals. Especially in this field, he seeks to provoke competition with other parties and comparison with other political leaders. “Whether it will be SYRIZA with a new tax number or whether it will be something different, we don’t know, but, so far, what I heard yesterday seemed to me rather a spectacular dive into the past than a discussion about the future, which we need to have substantially in our homeland,” Mr. Mitsotakis said in his first public comment on Tsipras’ party, also mentioning that “he will now be judged as leader of a party that has not yet given any imprint”.
He also left a barb about the lack of political proposal and programmatic discourse for Maria Karystianou. “The country has experimented with self-proclaimed saviors. That didn’t go very well in the past,” Mr. Mitsotakis mentioned, adding that “from there on, I emphasize, I respect every political opponent, I respect Mrs. Karystianou as a person, but now that she entered the political arena she will have to be judged for her positions”.
Published in Parapolitika
