Megaros Maximos is studying the adjustment of the pre-election campaign, focusing on the areas where the ND shows significant leaks, for the period of almost fifty days until the European elections on June 9.
On his staff Kyriakou Mitsotakis they analyze with particular attention the findings of the polls, which are now also carried out at the regional level. The geographical regions in which the ND is losing, albeit for different reasons, are known, and based on this data, both the Prime Minister’s election tours and other supporting moves from government and party levels are planned.
At the same time, however, focus groups are also being studied, in which, according to information, the biggest problem is negative impressions of the government due to inaction in specific areas of its own announcements and commitments and, to a lesser extent, the flight to the right for ideological reasons. .
“Recruitment” Dendias in Macedonia
In this context and beyond the initiatives of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, specific areas in which the ND is called upon to give special emphasis have been “charged” to top government officials. A more typical example of this tactic is Central and Western Macedonia, which has been assigned, with obvious targeting and clear symbolism, to the Nikos Dendias. In this way, a re-mobilization of the party base will be sought, while at the same time the Minister of National Defense will be called upon to play a pivotal and demanding party role.
At the same time, the Prime Minister is expected to combine his pre-election appearances with the promotion of ongoing projects or the delivery of completed ones, such as the Kalloni – Sigri road connection, which he inaugurated during his visit to Lesbos on Friday. It should be noted that the Northern Aegean is one of the regions where the ND received a wave of disapproval in the regional elections.
The areas to which the attention of the government and the party machine is basically directed in the run-up to the European elections are those in which, on the one hand, the surveys show quite weak points and de-convergence tendencies, and on the other hand, significant signs of disapproval of the government were presented already from the regional elections of the previous autumn. Based on these, the following regions are under the microscope: Central and Western Macedonia, Thessaly, the Ionian Islands and, due to a combination of parameters, Thrace. In all these areas, opinion polls and returns, to the extent that they can be safely and representatively, show a significant government retreat, at rates well below the target of 30%-33%.
Ionian Islands: Messages of disapproval
With a smaller coefficient of population gravity (204 thousand inhabitants), the Ionian Islands are also an area in which the ND is called to face a political challenge. It was the region in which the least emphasis was placed on the regional elections (the Prime Minister made only one visit) and the message to the government had already been sent the previous autumn, when the “rebel” Yannis Trepeklis won with an overwhelming 65.27% of the Rodi Kratsa. In general, the characteristics of regional and European elections can be very different, but in government they know that there are also common denominators. The main one is that in both processes the criticality of the parameter “governance” is absent, which facilitates the looseness of the vote and unleashes the moods of disapproval of the government.
Thessaly: Pays the arrears
The region is developing into an open wound for the government, as the restoration of damages, compensations, meeting the pressing demands of the people of Thessaly and the implementation of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan have been languishing for months. The disapproval was already recorded in the October regional elections, where Dimitris Kouretas emerged as the winner, even if the former regional governor Kostas Agorastos recorded on the first Sunday a performance close to the national percentage of the parliamentary elections. One of the cards that the government will bet on in the hope of at least a partial reversal of the negative climate, is the delivery of the southern section of the E65 highway on April 23, in the presence of the Prime Minister, in an attempt to highlight a “positive agenda”, as they say executives of Maximus.
Thrace: Area of low performance
The characteristics of the European elections in the region of Thrace and especially in the prefectures of Xanthi and Rodopi are very different. There, ND recorded its lowest performance in the 2019 European elections, with 25.24% and 19.69%, respectively. The minority Party of Equality, Peace and Friendship had then emerged as the first force with percentages of 38% in Rodopi and 25.24% in Xanthi and it is one of the questions of the upcoming European elections how the correlations will be formed. Among other parameters that are studied is the political atmosphere due to the developments in the Greek-Turkish field and how this affects the leaks to the extreme right.
Macedonia: Leaks to the right
It is one of the biggest bets for the government, which in recent opinion polls shows in this region percentages below 25% in the intention to vote, while at the same time there is a significant tendency to strengthen the Greek solution, which is moving towards the sphere of 15 % and looks capable of occupying the third place, above PaSoK.
This is an area where, almost in its entirety, the ND had scored a higher performance than its national percentage in the previous European elections, while it also has a special weight factor, as its total population exceeds two million.
The challenge in the current treaty has very different characteristics, given that in the recent regional elections the government also recorded a notable defeat in Western Macedonia, where the “rebel” ex-MP Giorgos Amanatidis won.
The clearest indication of the anxiety in the run-up to the European elections was the recent removal of the district governor’s removal and his rejoining the party lines. In addition, Western Macedonia is one of the regions in which the effect of the candidacy of Freddy Beleris is expected with particular interest and whether it will stop the leaks towards the Greek Solution or the other parties of the “anti-systemic” Right.
