The General Secretary of the Parliamentary Group of the ND and Member of Parliament A’ Thessaloniki talks about the stakes of the new ballot box, about the April congress but also about the “vertigo”, as he characteristically says, where SYRIZA and PASOK are.
The country is gradually entering the path of European elections. In your opinion, what is at stake in the new ballot box and what is the threshold for New Democracy?
June’s European elections, as you very well know, are of increased importance for the whole of Europe, as in the next five years crucial decisions will be made on Europe’s defense and energy autonomy, the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy and the response to the climate crisis. It is therefore necessary to strengthen the forces that believe in the European vision and to send persons with a European orientation to the European Parliament. At the same time, we want a broad victory for our faction that confirms its political supremacy and guarantees stability, security and confidence in the course of our country. We need, therefore, to seek the maximum possible participation, to fight perceptions of a loose vote, to act without arrogance, but also without complacency. And that’s what we do.
You will obviously use the party conference next April for this…
We have already started with the Thessaloniki pre-conference. We are celebrating 50 years since Konstantinos Karamanlis founded New Democracy. We honor the founder and all the leaders, executives, fighters of our faction. We highlight, at the same time, both the timeless contribution of our party to the Motherland, as well as our principles, positions, plan and vision for the Greece of the common future. We are trumpeting, at the same time, mobilization, recruitment, two-way communication with society in view of the European elections. We listen to people’s concerns and intensify our efforts in the face of problems.
Let’s go to the major issues, our national issues. Do you see the Greek-Turkish approach paying off? Are we going to The Hague for the continental shelf? And what do we answer to the neighbor’s complaints about the islands:
We Greeks want peace, rapprochement, and cooperation with our neighbors, but with the inviolable condition of respect for International Law and the principles of good neighborliness. The only pending issue is the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf, and our proposal for a joint appeal to the International Court of Justice remains open. Since 1975, however, filed by Constantinos Karamanlis, there have been successive rounds of dialogue, but none have been successful. We therefore cannot discount anything. However, it is clear that there cannot be – and will not be – any discussion on issues of sovereignty and sovereign rights. There are no “grey zones” in the Aegean and it does not enter into any bargain that is enshrined in the UN Charter. right of defense of the islands. We therefore expect the neighboring country to see the benefit that the calm waters in the Aegean already bring, to abandon arbitrary claims and to agree to the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf by the International Court of Justice.
As Deputy Minister of Macedonia – Thrace, you presented a project plan for Thessaloniki. Where is he at the moment?
The plan of more than 30 projects for Thessaloniki 2030 that we drew up in previous years – and I am proud to have participated in it – is in full swing, closely monitored by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This year is the year of completion of the Metro. Test runs are already being carried out along the entire length of the line, while work on the extension to Kalamaria is expected to be completed in 6-8 months after the delivery of the basic line. And of course the studies for the tenders for the extensions west to the areas of Evosmos and Kordelio will follow, while the extension to Toumba and Harilaou is planned. The construction of the Fly Over has also begun and its delivery is expected in May 2027. The redevelopment of the Pavlos Melas Metropolitan Park has begun. The new Pediatric Hospital in Filiros is entering the construction phase and the procedures for the construction through PPP of the new Oncology hospital, in the former Karatassiou camp, are progressing. The building permit for the Holocaust Museum has been issued and its implementation is starting. Preliminary works have begun for the creation of the technological innovation park Thess INTEC, in Perea. However, the tender for logistics in the former Gonou camp is also moving forward. And the procedures for the regeneration of the TIF area, the beach front, the field facilities that our city’s teams need.
IN VERTIGO
Captives in her yearbook opposition SYRIZA and PASOK
Which party do you see coming in second place? And how do you judge the course of SYRIZA and PASOK?
For the first time, the vertigo turns out to be contagious – it spread from the second to the third – and it does not bode well for them. However, it seems clear that SYRIZA and PASOK were captured in the competition for ranking in the “yearbook” of the opposition and are unable to formulate a policy for the country. It turns out, after all, that the only constant for SYRIZA is instability, toxicity, populism. But also the intemperance that often ends up in disgrace for all Greeks. Equally evident is the inability of the PASOK leadership to chart a course. He flirts with the anachronism of the Left, promises and contradicts, says and spills, promises and retracts.
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