In the port of Alexandroupolis, the director of the Diplomatic Academy, Ambassador Nikolaos Garilidis, accompanied young people who wanted to continue their diplomatic career, namely the 27th series. One of the six diplomats who received a few days ago the title of Minister Plenipotentiary A’ with the rank of ambassador – along with Chrysoula Aliferis, Dimitris Karamytsos-Tsiras, Katerina Georgiou and Rousseau Koundouros – Mr. Garilidis, himself an Egyptian by birth and with a term in Cairo in difficult years of the Turkish-Libyan conflict and tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, when Greece had to maintain tension on the front with Egypt and embark on effective countermeasures, he understands the strategic value of Alexandroupolis much better than many.

Since I mentioned the promotion of Katerina Georgiou, she represents Greece in the Holy See, in the Vatican. Few people know that Ms. Georgiou has a long and deep personal friendship with Eleni Surani, the current ambassador to Rome and a former diplomatic adviser to the prime minister. The presence of both in Rome at least ensures that there is no undue interference that can sometimes occur when two diplomats are in the same city. We’ve seen this before in many posts…

I’m leaving diplomacy and leading you into politics. In the last days of Kostas Ah. Karamanlis was in his constituency, Serres, as he would normally be a candidate in the May 21 elections, as we wrote. In fact, it was never a question of him not participating in the vote, but there were also relevant measurements that “blocked” the candidacy, both nationally and all-Macedonian. I will briefly mention that to the question “how do you assess the attitude of Karamanlis after the accident”, 35% of all respondents answered negatively, 33% positively and 32% neutrally. Among ND voters, 61% assess him positively, 29% neutrally and 10% negatively. However, the percentage changes dramatically in Northern Greece, as 85% positively assess the former minister’s attitude, a percentage that also reacts to the candidacy.

However, dozens of measurements have recently been “launched” in all parties, measuring not only their percentages by prefectures and regions, but also by candidates. Since I have several things in mind and will not go into nomenclature, I will give you a general conclusion: those strains that were put forward during periods of crisis, such as the recent Tempe crisis, have become more popular.

Very soon we will find out whether the participation of the “Karamanlikans” in the SYRIZA ballots in the May 21 elections will be completed. Basically, I am referring to Evangelos Antonaros, who in recent years has fought very hard battles against the government, the prime minister, and also all the “blue” officials.

The absence of Euclid Tsakalotos at the presentation of the SYRIZA program for bad loans was due to illness. Many, however, doubt whether the former minister was really stuck in a seasonal rut or was afraid of getting stuck while living with Luca Catseli. “He gets allergic when Ms. Katseli is in the same room,” a source in SYRIZA told me.

I am staying with SYRIZA as there has been a lot of discussion in the last few days about the central slogan before the elections. Sources told me that the discussion revolves around “we take responsibility”, which refers to the running of the country and at the same time is the “nail” for Mitsotakis, who “does not take responsibility for anything, since it is always the fault of others “.

I am leaving SYRIZA and joining PASOK. Or in the former PASOK, as they say that the former deputy representative of the party, Anastasia Simitropoulou, has recently been looking for contacts with the ND. The contacts are not accidental because, as she announced, she will be a candidate for Alimos municipality against the current mayor, Mr. Kondilis, whose first municipal councilor she was under gunpoint. Therefore, flirting with the first party is always useful.

Many believe that Christos Tarantilis will again become a candidate for the State Council because of the hyperactivity that he shows until the last moment as president of the Committee for Research and Technology. The reality is that the State Department has long decided that it will not be a candidate, but without slowing down his activities. In fact, as a farewell, he recently presented a new report from the Parliament’s Research and Technology Committee, which presents proposals on how to achieve innovation in specific sectors of the Greek economy, such as agri-food, energy, environment, shipping and tourism. And it is expected that this report will be used after the elections, as the creation of an autonomous Ministry of Innovation is being considered.

A ministry that is always of great interest is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since N.D. new government, many are betting that we will see Giorgos Herapetritis as the head of Greek diplomacy, who, by the way, traveled to Paris for a week, where he had a meeting with French Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste. Jebari, as well as Alstom and French Railways SNCF executives over the infamous Contract 717.

Ministry of the NSFR

The creation of an autonomous Ministry of Innovation, which I told you about above, is not the prime minister’s only thought. If Mitsotakis receives a new mandate, the ministry will have very different characteristics, as Maximos believes that changes are needed in traditional structures. There has been a proposal in the past to create an NSRF ministry that would centrally manage and distribute multidistributable software. The scenario can be implemented within the next four years, and if this happens, then the name of Thodoros Skilakakis, who will become a member of the State Parliament, may play a role in the new structure.