Greek Elections 2023: Unknown twists and surprises

A strong hand at the PM’s office in terms of the supervision and coordination of government work, the formulation of central policy and the evaluation of government officials along with an expanded “rotation” in ministries (in terms of persons and responsibilities) is being prepared by Kyriakos Mitsotakis for his second  tenure. He is returning today to the Maximos Mansion  from where he will put the last pieces of the government puzzle for the official unveiling this afternoon.

It is preceded by the visit of the New Democracy president to the Presidential Palace, at 11 in the morning, in order to receive the mandate to form a government from Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Two hours later, at 1:00 p.m., he will be sworn in as prime minister.

The aim is that tomorrow, Tuesday, the new government will be sworn in, the Council of Ministers will meet on Wednesday and Mitsotakis will go to Brussels on Thursday to participate in the (heavy) European Council as well as a preliminary meeting of the European People’s Party (EPP) – as leader of “the most powerful centre-right party” in Europe, according to his aversion yesterday.

New “triumvirate” in the PM’s office

The structure of the PM’s office (Maximos Mansion), the PM’s inner confidante core, that is, has already been locked. The former trio of Yiannis Bratakos – Akis Skertsos – Giorgos Gerapetritis is partially changing with the departure of the latter from Maximos Mansion.

The former Minister of State practically set up the first governmental steps (Presidential Decrees, bills, etc.) and takes over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new “triumvirate” is Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Bratakos, Minister of State Skertsos (again in charge of wider coordination-programming) and as a new arrival the experienced lawyer Stavros Papastavrou as Minister of State (for everything).

In the “showcase” of the government, the placement of the secretary of New Democracy Pavlos Marinakis, the executive who was charged with organizational affairs throughout the – double – pre-election period, having a permanent channel (but also good chemistry) with Mitsotakis’ secretaries is certain. The information availablr to in.gr states that in the past year Mitsotakis was looking for a woman for this position (indicative of the scenario that existed for Sofia Zacharakis, who had an excellent personal performance in her first candidacy in Eastern Attica). However, it was decided that Marinakis, as secretary of the faction, has this special weight for the position.

The third State Minister and a near collision

As the Minister of State with a special portfolio, supervision and parliamentary control in particular, it is also certain that Makis Voridis will take over. However, he is not expected to have Maximos as his headquarters, like Bratakos and Schertsos.

It is commonly a case similar to that of Kyriakos Pierrakakis, who was Minister of State but ran the Digital Governance portfolio.

After all, the challenges and demands increase with the election of an eight-party Parliament. The “Spartiates” party came fifth, with its president Vassilis Stigas publicly and by name thanking the imprisoned Ilias Kasidiaris, convicted for a criminal organization, while the Greek Solution managed to pass the 3% threshold by maintaining forces since May as well as NIKI and Plefsi Eleftherias with an increase in their percentages.

Information says that regarding the… entrances and exits from the PM’s office and the Parliament there was a possible clash that did not materialize in the end. Kostas Tasoulas is said to be one of the persons considered for a “move” to the PM’s office as deputy prime minister. In this case, it would be possible for Kostas Tsiaras to take over as president of the Parliament, however Tasoulas is expected to eventually return to his post.

Three key points

Greater female representation, the utilization of persons from the parliamentary group as well as the upgrading of general secretaries are expected to be three key points in the composition of the new scheme. Not only with regard to ministers, as there will primarily be “rotation”, but more so in the positions of deputy ministers. In particular, as far as women are concerned, there will be more both in the position of minister and as deputy ministers and deputy ministers.

The two female ministers from the previous period remain out of the picture: Niki Kerameos (seen as a favorite for the Interior Ministry who will take over, among other things, the change of operation of state hiring procedure ASEP) and Lina Mendoni (perhaps the only one who will not participate in the “rotation”, staying on at the Ministry of Culture).

The same applies to two female deputy ministers: Sofia Zaharakis (favorite for the new independent “social” ministry) and Domna Michailidou in the position of deputy minister but not in the now broken up Labor Ministry (specifically in Education, even though many intended her for Tourism).

As a new arrival, it is specified that the head of the State ballot Irini Agapidaki will be found (in Health as a deputy with the promoted governor Marios Themistokleous). The return of Olga Kefalogianni (to Tourism) is also expected, with a strong scenario for Elena Rapti as Deputy Minister of Tourism.

Anna Michele Asimakopoulou is probably heading to the Ministry of Citizen Protection as deputy minister, while the ambassador to the USA, Alexandra Papadopoulou, is also coming closer (to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Gerapetritis). Discussions exist, among other things, for an upgrade to the Energy position of ex-CEO Alexandra Sdoukou, while it remains to be seen in a few hours whether Mitsotakis will highlight other women from the State and non-Government, who are on his short list.

The movements

Unexpectedly, the following key “players” from the previous four years are moving among others: Kostis Hatzidakis (Finance), Nikos Papathanasis (deputy Finance minister), Nikos Dendias (Defence), Theodoros Skylakakis (in a more “loaded” position in Energy), Adonis Georgiadis ( of Labour), Christos Staikouras (Infrastructure), Kostas Skrekas (Development), Vassilis Kikilias (Civil Protection), Notis Mitarakis (Citizen Protection), Thodoris Livanios (deputy at Interior) etc.

Among the expected returns or new entries are Michalis Chrysochoidis (Health), Dimitris Kairidis (Immigration) who was allegedly involved in a collission as Christos Stylianidis, Yiannis Oikonomou (Deputy Minister of Education with responsibility for Sports) and others were initially considered for the post . Until late last night, the prospect of the “transfer” of former PASOK minister Giorgos Floridis, as well as the utilization of the president of KEDE and mayor of Trikkaia, Dimitris Papastergiou, was lively.

“Without Arrogance”

The only thing that is certain is the next day’s mark, or otherwise the guidelines, that Mitsotakis will hasten to give his new team – in his introductory public address from Maximos Mansion – during the following day’s Cabinet meeting. “We roll up our sleeves, work hard” he is expected to say, as already from the blue seat he spelled out “arrogance” and “arrogant behavior”.

As he said, betting on projecting an image of moderation to the citizens, “I will ask all our staff to be grounded (…) Political sovereignty is not a recipe for arrogance, nor a blank check”.