The 5 “bets” of June 9

The pre-election strategy of the parties is being escalated by the political leaders, who are now firmly in the forefront across the territory. At the party headquarters, the public opinion measurements and the 2023 data are analyzed simultaneously by region and by county – even by municipality – for more targeted outings.

Each political force gives weight to different areas, either because it considers that it must improve serious weaknesses or because it sees room to strengthen an already good image. At the same time, however, common “battles” can be distinguished from North to South, the toughest, since they concern not only substance but also impressions. They are the big “bets” of June 9th with… projection on the following day both for the ND government and for the opposition trajectory of SYRIZA and PASOK.

the mega barometer. In Attica, the strongest conflicts are prescribed with different characteristics depending on the point of the Basin. The election results where almost half of the country’s population lives are a barometer for the nationwide image of the parties. While the ND aims to maintain an image of dominance everywhere, SYRIZA and PASOK seek the best result to finally “raise” their nationwide performance, given that through Attica, in combination with the other large urban centers, the order is decided ranking. For Mitsotakis, the goal is to maintain forces in neighborhoods – castles such as the Northern Sector (with him on Saturday in Vrilissia, where the ND had taken 51.68%) but primarily not to lose areas in which he overturned the past in 2023 : the “folk” districts in B’ Piraeus (37.24%), West Athens (34.66%), West Attica (39.74%). Kasselakis believes that Athens has the largest public that can be contested, but also that from there he can broadcast the central messages against Mitsotakis. He is focusing on the south and middle class, while Androulakis is targeting jumps all over the place for third place. PASOK was fourth in all of Attica, except for Eastern, where it finished third (with 8%). It is considered that there is a reservoir especially in the west (there it had the best performance last year with 8.92%) due to the problems of everyday life, which wear down the government.

the three days of the chiefs. Macedonia as a whole, but Thessaloniki in particular, and even more specifically the six municipalities of First Thessaloniki, are of the highest priority for the ND. From there, multiple “messages” had emerged in the last elections. In A’ Thessaloniki, it moved much lower than its nationwide percentage, at 35.28%, and is still under pressure according to rolling measurements. Second was SYRIZA (17.52%) and the fourth party after the KKE was PASOK (8.14%), which received less than 10% (specifically 9.85%) in the Second Thessaloniki as well. Mitsotakis returns to the city again on Monday with his eyes primarily on the west and with a “positive reason” for major projects, such as the metro. His political opponents will have preceded him: on Saturday Kasselakis, on Sunday Androulakis. The former will continue to appear there with a center-left profile, addressing through national issues the audience of the patriotic PASOK, while investing in the progressive part of the city and in executives of Koumundourou with bases in the North. Androulakis is seeking a targeted presence (and with the European input of Nicolas Schmitt, who will join him) while he has already tried to strengthen his local office and activate his self-governing ties. The goal, the maximum rally to avoid a (very) bad result.

signal for the next day. In the ND electoral strategy manual, Kampos has his own separate chapter. The faction may have recorded high percentages in Thessaly in the national elections, surpassing its local and national results (43.09% in Karditsa), however the difficulties existed in the largest prefecture, Larissa (39.35%), while the catastrophic floods have change the data. Government and party echelons regularly come and go in the region – a target of the ND, which is seen as signaling the next day nationwide and which lost in the regional elections last October. SYRIZA and PASOK elected a regional governor in the aftermath of the disaster and consider some counties to be contested based (also) on the non-neodemocratic self-governing mechanisms. Kasselakis raises ‘flag’ of empathy Androulakis will be in Larissa on Monday with the European Socialist candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, Nicolas Schmidt, seeking a pledge to continue to bring the region’s problems to Europe.

4 conflicts for 3 parties. Crete, the place of origin of the three political leaders, is a major field of conflict between SYRIZA and PASOK against the ND which wants – at the very least – to keep the image of last summer unchanged. The greatest pressures for the ND are found in Heraklion and Rethymno, where in 2023 it recorded rates of 35.16% and 36.67% respectively. PASOK was second in three of the four prefectures (it lost Chania to SYRIZA, which otherwise lost all its momentum) and wants to strengthen these forces by winning at least one prefecture. Something that would mark for Charilaou Trikoupis a substantial and highly symbolic victory against Mitsotakis. Kasselakis is moving with the same goal, that is to win a county, claiming voters that SYRIZA lost in the last elections. Especially in Chania where the party came second in 2023, the leader of Koumoundourou relies on the forces of Pavlos Polakis while he has already invested in the city with an exhaustive tour.

prestige and substance. As in Crete, so in the five municipalities of Achaia issues are played out… prestige for the Center-Left. The once centre-left stronghold, where in 2019 SYRIZA had swept with 40.27% (the second highest percentage at the time after Heraklion in Crete), was painted blue last year. Only one municipality (Erymanthou) was won by PASOK, with the region passing to the SW with 34.04%, SYRIZA second with 23.20% and PASOK with 13.70%. Mitsotakis does not want to see any reversals and has planned a tour for May 27, while Kasselakis has had the Achaean capital on the agenda since the informal election season, regularly choosing visits with clear messages to the traditional Pasok audience and possibly closing the circle there of tours.