By Penelope Galliou

In the final stretch for the ballot box of the self-governing elections, Megaro Maximou and Piraeus are gearing up the machines in pursuit of the maximum recruitment and mobilization of the executive potential, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself stepping forward and setting the tone, in the last week that begins today.

He gives the “starting fire” for the final sprint this morning, so the prime minister will visit Byron and will tour together with the candidate for the regional mayor of Attica, Nikos Hardalia, sending a new clear message of support for Nikos Hardalia in the region of Attica where he will and the most critical – and from a political point of view – battle of the self-governing elections, while in the afternoon he will continue with a visit to Corinth where he will tour together with the candidate Regional Governor of Peloponnese, Dimitris Ptochos.

After all, Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself identified from the floor of the meeting of the ND parliamentary group as the goal the victory of the candidates supported by Piraeus in the 13 regions and in the three large municipalities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus.

The bar for the blue party is high considering that its goal of winning its candidates supported by the ND either in the first round of next Sunday’s elections or in the repeat second round next Sunday, in all regions, is achievable. An assessment that is also based on the recent opinion polls that have seen the light of day and show that the correlations of the national elections in June have not changed, despite the crises that the government was asked to manage at the start of its second term.

In addition to the prime minister himself who will give impetus with his presence in tours and support events for ND candidates, all the executives of Piraeus are also throwing themselves into the race with the parliamentarians and ministers intensifying their presence in their districts during the final stretch of the self-governing battle throughout Greece. The Prime Minister made the relevant exhortation during his speech to the ND parliamentary group, where he asked their MPs to “put their backs” on the self-governing battle, leaving aside any personal disagreements or bitterness that may exist .

“We claim in the positions of Regional Governors to have people who can share the government’s goals and who can serve tomorrow the development plans that we have already drawn up and presented to the local communities”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, addressing his deputies, giving the stamp of his policy and justifying his decision to support 13 candidates in the Regions.

On the agenda of the prime minister this last week of the self-administration battle is his visit next Wednesday to Western Macedonia where the ND has thrown all its forces to support the candidacy of the regional governor Giorgos Kasapidis, who has against him the candidacy of the “guerrilla “former member of the National Democratic Party Giorgos Amanatidis. A derby that ND does not want to lose.

On the same day, Wednesday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to tour Thessaloniki as well, to support the candidacy of the current mayor of the city, Konstantinos Zervas, whom the prime minister chooses to support with his personal presence. Emphasizing the projects that are being launched and carried out in Thessaloniki, the Prime Minister is expected to be present at the signing of the “Operation-Maintenance of the Thessaloniki Metro Network” contract at an event that will be held at the “Agia Sophia” station of the Thessaloniki Metro, as well as to attend in the presentation of the urban regeneration project of the former facilities of the FIX brewery.

The battle in the Northern Aegean region, which will be fought between the Piraeus-backed Alkibiadis Stefanis and the current regional governor Kostas Moutzouris, is also considered important for the ND.

The eyes of Piraeus in any case remain fixed on the long-suffering Thessaly, where the current regional governor Kostas Agorastos faced the intense criticism and indignation of those affected by the catastrophic floods but after the initial numbness and the bending he presented, according to the data of Piraeus , seems to be recovering, continuing on a re-election trajectory.​