New Democracy is not waiting for the formal opening of the Thessaloniki International Fair to begin its political campaign in Northern Greece.
From Monday, August 31, through Friday, September 4, government and party delegations will visit all 17 electoral constituencies across Western Macedonia, Central Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
The plan is clear:
to turn the week before the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair into an intensive political mobilization across the region.
The campaign will culminate on Saturday, September 5, when Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers the opening speech of the Fair.
Five Days of Political Mobilization
The schedule is designed to ensure a continuous political presence across Northern Greece.
Different senior officials will lead delegations in different regions every day, giving the party the ability to combine local outreach with a broader national message.
The objective is not only to speak.
It is also to listen.
To meet local institutions, professionals, social groups and party organizations before the Prime Minister arrives in Thessaloniki.
Adonis Georgiadis Across Drama, Evros, Xanthi, Rodopi and Serres
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis will have one of the most intensive schedules.
He is expected to visit:
Evros on September 1,
Rodopi on September 1,
Drama and Xanthi on September 2,
and Serres on September 3.
Deputy Health Minister Eirini Agapidaki will also participate in visits to Evros and Xanthi, while Defence Minister Nikos Dendias will be in Xanthi on September 3.
The dense presence of senior government figures in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace underlines the strategic and political importance New Democracy places on the region.
Dendias in Xanthi and Rodopi
Defence Minister Nikos Dendias will visit both Xanthi and Rodopi on September 3.
His presence carries added weight because of the geographic and geopolitical significance of Thrace.
In Rodopi he will be joined by Christos Dermetzopoulos, while in Xanthi Eirini Agapidaki will also take part.
Hatzidakis in Pieria and Imathia
Kostis Hatzidakis will visit Pieria on August 31 and Imathia on September 2.
In Imathia, he will be joined by Michalis Chrysochoidis and Lina Mendoni.
The presence of senior economic and government officials in the region fits directly into the political narrative expected to dominate the Thessaloniki International Fair:
growth,
income,
investment,
and the cost of living.
Chrysochoidis in Thessaloniki and Imathia
Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis will also have a prominent role.
On September 2, he will be in Thessaloniki’s First Constituency with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Dimas and in Imathia with Kostis Hatzidakis and Lina Mendoni.
He will also be a keynote speaker at an ONNED event in Thessaloniki titled:
“Thessaloniki on the Move: A City With Safe and Modern Transport.”
Infrastructure and Security at the Center of Thessaloniki
The ONNED event will take place on Wednesday, September 2, at 18:30 outside Thessaloniki City Hall.
Christos Dimas and Michalis Chrysochoidis will be the main speakers.
The timing is deliberate.
The event comes just days after the opening of the Kalamaria extension of the Thessaloniki Metro and immediately before Mitsotakis’ speech at the Fair.
New Democracy is clearly trying to connect infrastructure with security, mobility and everyday quality of life.
Western Macedonia in Focus
Western Macedonia will also receive a large number of senior officials.
In Grevena, the schedule includes Stavros Papastavrou, Nikos Papaioannou, Christos Dimas and Niki Kerameus.
In Kozani, Dimitris Papastergiou, Stavros Kalafatis, Nikos Tachiaos, Sevi Voloudaki and Giorgos Kotsiras will take part.
In Florina, Lina Mendoni, Nikos Tachiaos, Iason Fotilas and Giorgos Gerapetritis are scheduled to visit.
The concentration of officials there reflects the continuing political importance of the region’s energy transition and post-lignite transformation.
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Get Heavy Political Coverage
The schedule for Drama, Evros, Kavala, Xanthi and Rodopi is among the most intensive of the entire campaign.
Evros will host:
Sevi Voloudaki,
Adonis Georgiadis,
Eirini Agapidaki,
Stavros Papastavrou,
and Michalis Chrysochoidis.
Xanthi will host:
Kostas Karagounis,
Dimitris Markopoulos,
Adonis Georgiadis,
Eirini Agapidaki,
Nikos Dendias,
and Kostas Katsafados.
This political density shows that New Democracy sees Thrace as a region requiring sustained and high-level attention.
Central Macedonia Becomes the Bridge to the Fair
Central Macedonia effectively becomes the political runway to Thessaloniki.
The First and Second Thessaloniki constituencies, Imathia, Kilkis, Pella, Pieria, Serres and Chalkidiki will all receive government and party delegations.
In the First Thessaloniki constituency, officials include:
Anna Karamanli,
Christos Dimas,
Michalis Chrysochoidis,
Giorgos Kotsiras,
Thanasis Davakis.
In the Second Thessaloniki constituency:
Sevi Voloudaki,
Dimitris Papastergiou,
Giannis Vroutsis.
Schertsos and Kyranakis on Disability Policy
On Thursday, September 3, at 17:00, New Democracy’s Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, together with the party’s Thessaloniki organization, will hold a discussion focused on disability policy.
Minister of State Akis Schertsos will be the keynote speaker.
Participants will also include:
New Democracy Political Committee Secretary Konstantinos Kyranakis,
Konstantinos Megaritis,
Zisis Ioakeimovits,
and Kostas Lolitsas.
The event signals that New Democracy wants the Fair week to include a strong social-policy dimension, not only economics and infrastructure.
Entrepreneurship on the Eve of the Fair
On Friday, September 4, at 16:30, New Democracy will organize a business conference at Thessaloniki City Hall under the initiative “Epicheireite!”
The keynote speakers will be Akis Schertsos and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis.
Speakers and party officials will also include:
Konstantinos Kyranakis,
Giannis Smyrlis,
Alexandra Sdoukou,
Akis Bafas,
and Zisis Ioakeimovits.
The timing is politically significant.
One day before the Prime Minister’s speech, the party is putting entrepreneurship, investment and the productive economy at the center of the agenda.
Volunteer Action in Aristotelous Square
On the morning of Saturday, September 5, New Democracy’s Volunteer Secretariat will organize public-awareness and participation activities in Aristotelous Square.
The objective is to highlight civil-society organizations and encourage Thessaloniki residents to take part in volunteer initiatives.
This gives the final day of the political mobilization a more social and participatory profile before Mitsotakis takes the stage.
New Democracy Wants the Fair to Begin Before the Fair
That is the central message of the entire schedule.
The party is not treating the Thessaloniki International Fair as a two-day Prime Ministerial appearance.
It is treating it as a full political week.
First:
17 constituencies.
Then:
events on transport, disability policy and entrepreneurship.
Finally:
Mitsotakis’ speech.
The strategy is obvious.
The Prime Minister will arrive in Thessaloniki after five days of organized political activity have already shaped the terrain.
Northern Greece as a Political Barometer
Northern Greece carries special significance for New Democracy.
It combines:
traditional electoral strongholds,
pressure from parties further to the right,
agricultural concerns,
migration,
energy transition,
infrastructure,
and local development gaps.
The decision to deploy government and party delegations daily across the entire region shows that New Democracy wants not only to communicate.
It also wants to measure.
Where dissatisfaction is strongest.
Where pressure is building.
And where the government’s message needs reinforcement before Mitsotakis delivers his keynote speech.
This Is Not Just a Tour — It Is a Political Stress Test Before Mitsotakis
The real significance of the schedule lies in its breadth.
New Democracy is sending senior officials everywhere.
From Florina to Evros.
From Grevena to Chalkidiki.
From Serres to Kavala.
This is more than a party mobilization exercise.
It is a political mapping operation.
The delegations will carry messages into local communities.
But they will also bring messages back.
And those messages will reach Thessaloniki just hours before the Prime Minister’s speech.
For New Democracy, therefore, the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair does not begin on September 5.
It begins on August 31.
And for five days, Northern Greece becomes the government’s largest political testing ground ahead of one of Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ most important economic and political interventions of the year.
Source: pagenews.gr