By Penelope Galliou

Determined to fight and win the “battle of Crete”, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after choosing his family’s birthplace, Chania, as the “starting point” of the open rallies, returned to Crete and Heraklion in the last “bargain” before the end of the ballot. The prime minister returned to the largest prefecture of Crete from where he renewed the bet he placed from Chania for the great victory of the ND.

“I want to win a bet that we have all made together, for all of Crete to dress in blue on May 21st. The whole country should be blue, in the colors of the homeland and the faction for independent Greece and independent democracy” Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized to the applause of the packed “Nikos Kazantzakis” garden theater.

The prime minister’s bet acquires even greater weight given the critical region of Heraklion, where in 2019 SYRIZA swept, and together with all of Crete, which was painted pink at the time, won the ND by 13 points, exceeding 43% against 30% of the SW. A difference, the reduction of which must be taken for granted for an additional reason, which goes by the name of “Nikos Androulakis” who, as a native of Heraklion, is estimated to increase the percentages of PASOK-KINAL which was once dominant in the fourth largest county of the country.

“Go forward or go back, we want better wages or cuts, we want safe borders or borders open to any threat. In short, we want Mitsotakis or Tsipras. This is the dilemma of the elections,” the prime minister stressed during his speech in Heraklion, calling from new citizens to reflect, judge and compare the present and the future with the ND faction compared to the past of SYRIZA. while he praised the size of the gathering expressing his satisfaction

“The people will say no to the calamity a second time, but will give a second order to the advance,” said Mr. Mitsotakis, noting that “on the day that Konstantinos Mitsotakis would celebrate with us, we promise the celebration of democracy and we want the first for everyone of our county”.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis referred to the governmental project of blue governance, recalling all the crises and difficulties that his government was called upon to face, from immigration and Turkey’s aggressive moves to the pandemic, noting that “We have not forgotten our commitments for a single moment”.

And from Heraklion, Crete, the economy was put at the center of politics as well as his criticism of SYRIZA, asking the pensioners to send the bill to those who reduced their pensions with the “Katrougalou Law”, while accusing Mr. .Tsipras that he refuses to have his program costed and spoke of “money trees”, pointing out that SYRIZA wants to convince the people “to return to their own ruins”. “But Mr. Tsipras will remain alone immersed in his hypocrisy” said Mr. Mitsotakis.

Nikos Androulakis was also targeted by the prime minister, in contrast to PASOK voters, to whom he continues to throw bridges. He accused the president of PASOK, Nikos Androulakis, of looking to the past and making a one-sided fight against him, but the voters of PASOK joined the ND in the fight against populism. “They don’t see the glass as empty or broken as SYRIZA tells them, and they refuse to follow what was until yesterday their opponent. The position of PASOK voters is not with populism,” he concluded.

With his speech also in Heraklion, Crete, Kyriakos Mitsotakis reaffirmed his unwavering intention to fight hard to change the electoral map and the day after the anniversary of the historic battle of Crete (May 20, 1941), with the results of the ballot box May 21, to overturn the “pink” image that the results of the 2019 national elections painted, painting the island blue.