Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Nafplio and Mycenae in the morning, where he spoke with citizens, attended the signing of the contract for the construction of the road axis that will connect the network of Argolis with the A7 “Moreas” highway, which is the “backbone” of Peloponnese, and found itself at the point where another infrastructure project will be developed, the marina of Nafplion.

“We want to talk about the account of our work, because it is the best guarantee of credibility for the citizens to believe in us that what we will tell you we will do in the next four years, we will actually implement them” said the Prime Minister in Mycenae, addressing to citizens who had gathered to welcome him.

“I feel very clear in my conscience as I embark on this new tour of the Greek people to ask them to let’s re-sign the new truth deal on the relations of the New Democracy with the Greek society.

We have kept the ship of the country steady and safe in the midst of unprecedented crises. And at the same time we implemented all the central pillars of our pre-election program. And compare this course of this four-year period in relation to what had happened in the previous four-year period. With the promises of tearing up the memorandums that led to a third memorandum, with the tax hike, with the dissolution of the middle class,” he added.

“We seek comparison for our work. We seek neither conflict nor toxicity.”

So we are here at all times to be judged and compared. We seek neither conflict nor toxicity. We let our opponents sink into the stinking pits they dug themselves.

We are not going to follow them in this tactic. Nor are we ever going to brand entire factions with vulgar and abusive hashtags because of the behavior of some of their leaders. They did it for us. But let’s not forget. They did it for us when they accused an entire faction of allegedly being pedophiles and rapists and anything else you can imagine from the behavior of some individual people.

We are not going to get into this game and I will ask you during the pre-election period to avoid this kind of toxicity as much as possible. The citizens don’t want it. They don’t want this confrontation. Citizens have problems. They know very well that the country has not turned into a paradise. I didn’t order miracles from you when I was elected in ’19. I promised hard work and measurable results and we can right now be proud that what we ordered, we implemented.

So it has a significance, as tomorrow the pre-election period will officially begin. Our executives should talk about our work and of course present our program for the next four years, about how we will continue on the path of development, about how we will increase wages and incomes for all Greek women, for all Greeks, about how we will invest in our health, which needs a drastic intervention so that the National Health System becomes worthy of your expectations. How we will further support the primary sector. How we will implement regional development”, the Prime Minister underlined.

“Self-reliant Greece or political monstrosity?”

“We will have the opportunity to talk about all of this during the pre-election period and argue with arguments. And I am now sure that on the evening of May 21 there will be a big winner in the elections, because quite simply today there is only one reliable proposal for governance: The proposal of the New Democracy for a self-reliant Greece, with a self-reliant New Democracy.

All other proposals I hear are lost in the corridors of underground dealings, fantasies of progressive governments, “government of losers”. Pay attention to this very well: two top executives of SYRIZA yesterday did not hesitate to say that “of course we will be second, that is to say defeated, we will try, if the beans come out, to form a government with PASOK and MeRA25”. And when the Leader of the Opposition himself says that this cannot be done, I tell you, I do not believe a single word of what Mr. Tsipras says.

If the beans come out, have no doubt that he will attempt this kind of “political monstrosity”, bypassing the first party and trying to form a government, mind you now, with Tsipras as Prime Minister, Varoufakis as Finance Minister again, possibly Antonaros as Government Spokesman . I don’t know what else we can see.

But, mathematically, we have to prevent this possibility and the only way to prevent this possibility is by the New Democracy being strong in the first ballot on May 21st, and we will achieve that. So that we can continue, what I heard, to domesticate the country even more.

We have sorted out many issues in this four-year period. We faced unprecedented challenges: pandemics, migration crises, an aggressive neighbor, a war in Ukraine, a global accuracy crisis.

We supported the citizens and especially the weakest and we could and we did it precisely because the economy was growing fast, we were creating a growth surplus, which we returned to the citizens in a way that was always fair. Because I don’t want you to forget that the New Democracy is the great popular party of the country and as a popular party it must support all our fellow citizens, primarily the weakest fellow citizens. And we put it into practice, because that means a real social, progressive policy”, noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“The Election Dilemma: Will We Keep Going Forward or Go Back?”

“What happens at the national level ultimately has an imprint on the local level, on the income of each and every one of you. That is why it is so important that this development trajectory of the country continues and that we do not leave this path so as not to return to times that we want to forget.

So in closing, I want to tell you in very simple terms that the dilemma of the election is very clear: Are we going to keep going forward or are we going to go back? Are we going to continue in an era where we support disposable income, raise wages, cut taxes or go back to an era where we tax the farmers, the middle class again?

Will we continue on a path of a strong Greece that protects its borders or will we go back to the times of open borders and “the sea that doesn’t even have borders”?

Will we continue to be protagonists in Europe? A self-confident Greece that can claim and support its national interests, or we will always come to Europe as beggars to negotiate support programs in which – listen to this, friends, I think it has its special significance.

To be sure, if Mr. Tsipras ever won the election, which he won’t, but if he did win the election and attempt to implement the economic program he has announced, the country would be bankrupt within a month. We would go back to the memories, to times that we have left behind for good. We tell him, “no thanks, we won’t take it”.

We will continue to move forward, with New Democracy at the helm,” Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized.

Projects with development sign

In Nafplio, Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the point on the beach front where the city’s marina will be built through PPP.

“We have invested a lot in blue tourism as a whole as a country. A few days ago I was also in the Ionian Sea, where corresponding important investments are being made. But here for Nafplion, a city of such great historical importance for our country, for a natural tourist destination 12 months a year, this marina I believe will add a very important development potential. And, as you said, it will actually serve not only Nafplio but the entire wider region. An investment which will be modern, environmentally friendly, as I see and as all European standards now impose”, noted the Prime Minister.

The project, implemented by the Region of Peloponnese, envisages the construction of a tourist marina with a capacity of over 200 berths, with the possibility of mooring boats 8 to 12 meters long. The investment, in the first phase, is estimated at 25 million euros, and will cover a sea area of ​​73 hectares, while at the same time it provides for the regeneration of the wider land zone.

The Prime Minister earlier attended the signing ceremony of the contract for the connecting road section in the area of ​​Dervenakia, through which the seamless interconnection of the roads and cultural centers of Argolis with the national network will be completed.

“I know that it was a big backlog for Argolida, a piece of road that was not safe at all, and in good agreement with the Region, we are also solving this backlog.

We are signing the relevant contracts today, so that the project can start immediately and in two years from now there can be safe access to the Argolis. Something extremely important for Argos, for Nafplion, for Mycenae, for the entire development of the region.

One last outstanding issue here regarding the main road networks of the region, which is also being resolved. So let me repeat once more the very good cooperation we have overall with the Region”, noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the contract signing event.

The axis, 7 kilometers long, is part of the New Provincial Road for the Promotion of Archaeological Sites. It will substantially improve road safety based on European standards, it will facilitate travel to Central Greece, the central and southern Peloponnese, while at the same time it will contribute to the tourism and wider economic development of the region.

The cost of the project amounts to 37.2 million euros and is expected to be completed within two years.