Tonight, New Democracy is set to celebrate what may be its last birthday before the next national elections — buoyed by the 30% support it receives in most polls following the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), yet troubled by the public rhetoric of some of its own members. “We are proud of our ideas, our values, and our journey that began on this day, October 4, 1974. With our founding declaration, signed by Konstantinos Karamanlis, calling us to serve the nation ‘beyond and above the old, misleading labels of left, right, and center,'” wrote Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis yesterday in his regular Sunday Facebook post, drawing a direct line between the New Democracy of 1974 and the party of 2026, now steadily gearing up for the electoral battle ahead.
Tonight’s celebration will not include Antonis Samaras — who has, after all, been expelled from the party — nor Kostas Karamanlis, with both former party leaders’ absences being more or less expected. Nikos Dendias will also be absent, though for a different reason: he will be in Venice, participating in the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (ADRION) meeting at the level of Defense Ministers. It is also worth noting that Samaras chose yesterday to comment — via a new video — on the front page of the newspaper Parapolitika (eight days after it was published), without, however, denying the substance of the story — namely, that he is seeking to form a new party in order to drive Kyriakos Mitsotakis from power. In the same video, he mockingly commented on statements made by ministers Tsiaras and Theocharis.
The events marking New Democracy’s birthday
Immediately after returning from Thessaloniki and the TIF, intense preparations began at the party’s Piraeus Street headquarters for tonight’s event, which is expected to draw a large crowd. The gathering is set for 6:00 p.m. at the old OSY tram depot, at the junction of Piraeus and Ermou streets in Athens. Using cutting-edge technology, party Secretary-General Konstantinos Kyranakis and the New Democracy team have put together a digital journey through time, showcasing the party’s key milestones over the past 52 years — a period that, as they emphasize, coincides with Greece’s entire post-junta democratic era. Screens throughout the venue will display digitized posters from the party’s campaigns, its youth wing ONNED, and the university student group DAP-NDFK, as well as historic newspaper front pages from election victories and other landmark moments in the party’s history. For historical and symbolic reasons, neither Kostas Karamanlis nor Antonis Samaras will be absent from those archival images.
Additional screens will host a photography exhibition tracing the party’s 52-year journey, featuring not only historical images but also personal photographs contributed by party members. The “blue” birthday celebration will also include an interactive component designed to engage visitors. Highlights include multiple-choice quiz screens asking “How well do you know New Democracy’s history?” — drawing on key party and national events from 1974 to the present — as well as a basketball-themed tic-tac-toe game.
“New Democracy means to me…”
Every attendee will also have the chance, through a specially designed booth, to be digitally transported into the atmosphere of a New Democracy campaign rally. There will also be a 360-degree photo booth — very much on trend in recent years — where guests can be photographed alongside the party’s insignia and emblems. At the center of the venue, a prominent wall bearing the words “New Democracy means to me…” will invite participants to write their own personal answers — a wall that will subsequently be moved to the party’s central offices in Moschato. The goal of this year’s fresh and original celebration, as party officials on Piraeus Street explain, is to blend a retrospective journey through the party’s history with active audience participation, creating an immersive experience being organized by a Greek political party for the very first time.
Mitsotakis’s key messages
Tonight’s event will culminate in a speech by New Democracy leader and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, expected to echo the spirit of remarks he made to citizens in Katerini on Friday afternoon: “Why has this political movement ultimately proven to be the only major force that has stood the test of time? Because it always adapted to the demands of the era — but above all, because it never ceased to be the great popular movement that puts the interests of Greek men and women first, at the top of its priorities. The movement that unites rather than divides. The movement that always looks toward the future. A movement that has the ability to turn experience into a force for change and progress.”
