Giorgos Pagulatos is the new Ambassador to the OECD, replacing Giorgos Prevelakis, whose term of office expired, as I told you the other day, from October last year. Giorgos Pagoulatos is Professor of European Politics and Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. He has been the CEO of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) since 2019.

The public intervention of Kostas Karamanlis before the elections is expected to be twofold. In addition to his speech on May 9 at an event marking the anniversary of Greece’s accession to the EEC, the ex-premier, according to the column, is also due to attend the keynote speech of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Thessaloniki, the same sources note that it is very likely that he will also make a campaign a statement that would mention the upcoming battle on 21 May. The double intervention of Karamanlis confirms that the ice that existed in the previous period with Maximos has begun to melt, which is also evident from the appointment of Mr. Mitsotakis himself to the political committee of the party last Thursday, when it comes to Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis named Samaras, as well as He noted to Konstantinos Karamanlis and Konstantinos Mitsotakis that he felt a great responsibility, which he had taken upon himself.

Anyone who looked closely at the participants in the speech of Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the Political Committee would have found that the representatives of PASOK were absent. Some would argue that certain performers were not members of the party, so they were justifiably not present, although there is another point of view, expressed by a “gay” MP, who noted that the psychological gap between the party and “transfers” still exists. exists.

I am taking you abroad now, because during the week the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, announced 40 candidates for the posts of heads of EU delegations, that is, ambassadors. Among them is Stavros Lambrinides, who travels from Washington to New York as the EU ambassador. in the United Nations, a position that is still the culmination of his illustrious career.

Among the 40 there is another Greek, Vassilis Maragos, who is going to become the EU ambassador. in Yerevan, Armenia. Previously, he headed the division for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo in the General Directorate of the Commission for Neighborhood and Negotiations, while he previously held the “portfolio” of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus in the same directorate, hence the move.

I go outside and head to SYRIZA, more specifically Lavrio, which Alexis Tsipras visited a few days ago. What happened there was that the most observant discovered that there was a leader of SYRIZA who tried to… approach the president of the party, probably to take a photo, but Alexis avoided this, clearly showing that he did not want too much. . The persistent statesman nevertheless continued his efforts, constantly finding a barrier, until he gave up trying to get closer to the president.

What is the impact of the Georgoulis case on the parties? An experienced pollster who constantly “takes” measurements and always has an answer to any question, told me that the MEP case cost SYRIZA mainly because it stopped N.D. “The ruling party has lost everything it could lose,” he said characteristically, adding that from now on, because of the elections, he will only receive returns. How much, of course, remains to be seen.

The Prime Minister’s personal mention of Akis Shertsos was leaked online during his speech in Corfu. Referring to the My Home program, he recognized his close partner for the work he had done. However, indirectly, he did something else: he responded to the criticism of the state, which Mitsotakis still openly supports.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is already implementing alternative forms of touring. For example, on Friday when he was in Argolis, he did not do a “classic” speech program, but rather a “journey”, as a source told me. Some drive through the villages, coffee and impromptu speeches with a microphone. The prime minister always chooses a simple outfit, usually with a cardigan and a hood. Those in the know see behind these tours a new type of American guru, Stan Greenberg, with a long history of image power.

I asked a source from SYRIZA if the placement of Dragasakis and Tsakalot had caused concern in Komundura. The cool perspective he gave me is that even though Tsakalotos has been away from the center for a long time, Dragasakis always speaks “out of text” and improvises. As if he was telling me “what we had, what we lost.” However, the result does not justify it.

44 years later

What can Antonis Samaras have in common with Yannis Tragakis? A former parliamentarian told me about the event that will take place on May 9 in connection with the accession of Greece to the then EEC, in the presence of Karamanlis, Samaras and Mitsotakis, that this is a very special moment for the Messinian politician, just like in 1979, when the accession of Greece was signed already a member of the Greek Parliament. The same source told me that the current MP Yannis Tragakis also enjoys this privilege, who is actually the mayor of Samara, since he was first elected in 1974.