Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has wrapped up his party's national congress calling a third consecutive term a "national necessity," warning his cabinet to accelerate EU-funded infrastructure delivery.
By Penny Avramidi
He also made a pointed reference to the conspicuous absence of two former conservative prime ministers — a remark analysts read as a sign of unresolved tensions within New Democracy ahead of the 2027 elections.
Addressing delegates at the Metropolitan Expo center, Mr. Mitsotakis said "history is written only by those who are present" — a line widely interpreted as a direct signal to former prime ministers Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, neither of whom attended the 16th party congress.
He insisted the party remains cohesive, stating that "when New Democracy unites, it unites the country."
Mr. Mitsotakis framed the 2027 vote as a test of leadership competence rather than ideology, invoking the image of a 3 a.m. emergency phone call to ask delegates who they would trust to manage a geopolitical crisis.
He dismissed the contest as a choice not between himself and chaos, but between his record and opposition leaders Nikos Androulakis and Alexis Tsipras.
His three-term agenda centers on aggressive economic reforms, a firm foreign policy to maintain stability in the Aegean, and a constitutional overhaul — with a separate vow to reject populist spending demands and pursue only EU Recovery Fund-backed infrastructure projects already in the pipeline.
Mr. Mitsotakis also announced a direct appeal to an estimated 10 percent of voters who have drifted from the party, calling for a broad conservative front.
He confirmed he will serve his full second mandate before seeking a third, describing the path to 2030 as one only a continued New Democracy government could deliver.