The 50th anniversary of its foundation was celebrated by Nea Dimokratia, with a large street party that took place outside the party’s historic offices, on Rigillis Street.
The central point of the evening could not be other than the speech of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who, among other things, said that “we honor all our leaders, present and absent”
“We remained firmly on the right side of history. Constantly facing the carnage of division and the poison of populism. We are the most resistant faction in the country” added the prime minister.
The beautiful evening helped the plans of the organizers with a crowd of people flocking long before the speech of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and filling the street in front of the historic offices of the party.
It is noteworthy, perhaps helped by the choice of street party, that the average age was considerably younger than usual at party events.
The party’s front-line executives and MPs were there early on with most of them in a good mood and chatting for quite some time in a relaxed atmosphere with the press representatives and more.
They shone through the absence of Karamanlis – Samaras
Apart from those present, however, history was also made by those who were absent. In particular, the two former prime ministers, Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, who, although invited, chose not to attend, sending a resounding message to the current party leadership.
The wells
As expected, in the wells of the event, this action was commented on a lot, with the party officials being divided, depending on their internal party origins.
“I don’t know if ND or Potami is celebrating today,” commented an executive who is close to Antonis Samaras, referring to the multitude of executives who now belong to ND and come from the center and center-left.
After all, the opening of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the center and the change of course on issues such as the marriage of same-sex couples has disturbed several “hard” right-wingers, who have Antonis Samaras as their point of reference.
“It is a shame especially for Karamanlis” commented another official, adding that “it is unthinkable that he does not honor the party founded by his uncle, the Nationalist”.
On the other hand, there were not a few who defended the former prime minister’s stance.
The developments in the center-left
The developments in the opposition parties were also at the center of the discussions. Here, however, there was a consensus of opinion with Piraeus executives stating that “we are playing football alone but it is starting to do us no good”.
“I don’t know what will happen to PASOK, but SYRIZA no longer exists,” emphasized a government official.
See images from the event
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