By Penelope Galliou

As the hourglass of the European elections closes in on the last 23 days before the polls open, Kyriakos Mitsotakis is intensifying his presence in the region with continuous tours, emphasizing the “castles” that traditionally belong to the right wing of Konstantinos Karamanlis, such as Macedonia , but in the previous national polls they succumbed to voices coming from the far right of the ND.

These areas are at the center of the pre-election goals of the blue faction and led by the prime minister himself, the aim is to expose the patriotism and the exploitation of the “holy and sacred” – as government sources say – by specific factions and their leaders, in order to put a dent in the leaks that – at least according to polls – are recorded by ND voters. “There is no Christian meter and patriotism is seen in action and not in words”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his speech in Katerini, underlining that “the only responsible patriotic force that guarantees the stability and security of the country is New Democracy”.

In the context of the decision of the Maximos Palace to leave no challenge unanswered and to prevent the “mud in the fan” from opposition parties that politicize with populism and lies, the prime minister raised the gauntlet and responded to the “right wing” of the party. “I want to make a reference to those who criticize us, either because we are not, he says, patriotic enough, or because we are not Christian enough. To the latter I will say, quite simply, that there is no Christian meter. And our relations with faith and Orthodoxy we will not allow anyone and any party to steal them.

In fact, he invoked the recent answer given by Archbishop Ieronymos to those who attempt to exploit the Church and the faith, during their last joint visit to the structures of the Church in Delesi. “I think the archbishop himself answered all of them very modestly, but also strictly,” said Mr. Mitsotakis and also added that “to those who claim to be more patriotic than us, I will only say the following, what patriotism shows in action and not in words. To those who shielded the country’s defense, to those who strengthened the country’s prestige. Only ND fulfills these conditions”.

However, the prime minister reserved messages for the citizens and voters who in the previous national elections chose the parties that are to the right of the ruling faction. “I looked at the results of last June’s elections here in Pieria and saw that 15,000 of your fellow citizens voted for parties to the right of the N.D., three parties in particular. And I would like these fellow citizens of yours to reflect on whether these parties lived up to your expectations or if it was simply a flare, a firework, which, in fact, politically deceived you. And to reflect that the only responsible patriotic force today that guarantees the stability and security of the country is our great faction, New Democracy” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis .

As far as the trends recorded in the opinion polls for the disputed parties are concerned, however, they are divided, as the Greek Solution of Kyriakos Velopoulos seems to be significantly increasing its percentages, in contrast to the Victory of Dimitris Natsios, which is moving downwards in relation to the national elections, a year ago.

In particular, as recorded by new pulse poll for SKAI in the intention to vote ahead of the European elections, the ND maintains a solid lead over the second, by a difference of 15 points, SYRIZA as the ruling party gathers a percentage of 29%, half a point higher than in the previous Pulse poll (April 1-3). This is followed by SYRIZA which seems to have established itself in second place with 14%, having gained one unit, PASOK comes third with 11% and then Hellenic Solution comes fourth with 8%, displacing from fourth place the KKE which gathers 7 %. Victory and Freedom Sailing collect 3%. New Left and MeRA25 collect 2.5% and Foni Logici 2.1%. The undecided reach 12.5%.

These percentages respectively, in the vote estimate, are formed based on the distribution of undecideds, at 33% for ND, SYRIZA-PS reaches 16% and PASOK-KINAL 12.5%. The Hellenic Solution is again fourth with 9%, the KKE with 8%, the Victory Party and Freedom Sailing with 3.5%, the New Left and MeRA25 with 3% and the Voice of Reason with 2.4%.

A big bet for the ND and for all parties are the undecided, with the same poll sending optimistic messages regarding participation. In the question “if you are going to vote in the upcoming European elections”, 74% say definitely yes, 15% probably yes, 3% probably not and just 1% say definitely no. In addition, 7% have not yet decided.

Today the prime minister will visit the Regional Units of Imathia and Pella. In fact, in the morning at 10:00 he will attend the presentation of the “Digital School” by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, at the daily high school with high school classes of Rhizomat Imathia. He will then tour Veroi where he will meet and talk with the citizens and then move on to Naoussa. There, he will visit the under-construction Day Care Center for the Disabled “The Children of Spring” in Patrida Imathia and the Black Club of Pontion Naoussa, while in the afternoon he will visit the town of Giannitsa.