It may be that the 15th Congress of the ND, which started on Friday afternoon in Zappeio and ended this Sunday, did not have any political stakes, but it was for various reasons a very different party event from the corresponding ones of the last years.
It was held at a time when the government is under strong pressure, suffering deterioration, recording poll losses and facing a more or less serious crisis of credibility, either for issues such as the Tempe accident, or the recent assassination, almost at the entrance of the Agioi Anargyroi AT , or for the persistent problems of accuracy and so-called everyday life.
Under these conditions and despite the attempt to give the conference a celebratory and festive character, it was clear that as long as the problems weigh on the moods of the citizens it would be difficult and wrong to ignore them. Hence the Prime Minister referred in his speech to both tragic incidents, and in particular to that of Aghii Anargyri, stressing, among other things, that the pathogens of decades must be uprooted, but also noting with emphasis that “yes, the patrol car must also be a taxi”.
Morale deterioration
His main pursuit Kyriakou Mitsotakis at this conference was the essential mobilization of the party in view of the European elections. In the opinion polls, the ND shows significant losses and, even if it is not threatened by anyone, it is the first time in the last five years that it shows noticeable trends of demobilization of its electoral base.
In the context of the effort to revive party morale, Kyriakos Mitsotakis sought with his speech on Friday to maintain a balance between realism and visionary declarations, to address all party “tribes” (in the presence of the former prime ministers Costas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, who, however, moved on the “line” of silence), but without at the same time abandoning his own political line. The attempt to address the entire spectrum of the party’s electoral base was also evident, as there were multiple references to all the previous presidents of the ND, and emphatically to Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, both in the video shown before Kyriakos’ speech Mitsotakis as well as in his speech.
At the same time, he tried to set the framework of the political dilemmas in view of the European elections, emphasizing those points which could decisively influence the result and launch political developments, in one direction or the other. He noted that “the conflict may have a European title but it has a Greek content” and in this context he attacked Stefanos Kasselakischaracterizing him as an “imported leader”, and to Kyriakos Velopoulosciting that “right-wing populism is rearing its head again.”
The dilemmas
With these aspirations, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated among others that the European elections are a crucial contest and described them as a “spotlight” that illuminates the importance of political stability in an international environment of insecurity and fluidity. He stressed that a message of certainty and continuity should be given in June and tried to outline how a new cycle of risk and backsliding should be prevented, emphasizing the continuity of government work, despite delays and mistakes, in an effort in view of European elections to prevent any message that could bring the country back to face uncertainty and political experimentation.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed the issue of the country’s representatives in the European Parliament and highlighted in this context the issues of the review of the Common Agricultural Policy, Immigration, European defense, energy autonomy and technological independence.
In the controversial part of his speech, the Prime Minister referred to the preservation of political stability, while he noted that there is no room for inactivity, abstinence or complacency and cheap protests.
Committed to reform
However, Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not fail to declare once again his adherence to his liberal, reformist and centrist political position. In the run-up to the June ballot, he sought a party rallying call and noted that old campaigners should meet with new friends, regardless of ideological backgrounds.
He further referred to the ideological origins of the ND, describing the pillars of the ideological and political identity of the faction, and spoke in particular of the belief in “patriotism of responsibility” and parliamentarism, the European vision and the values of the Western world, aiming at an open economy and a modern welfare state with its citizens united.
The celebratory part was dominated by the reference to the completion of 50 years since the fall of the junta, the establishment of the ND and the consolidation of democracy by Konstantinos Karamanlis and underlined that the ND is the most durable party of the Post-colonial period and at the same time the strongest center-right political force in the whole of Europe.
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