The debate in Parliament on the motion of no confidence tabled jointly by PASOK, SYRIZA, Plefsi Eleftherias, and Nea Aristera showed one thing: Mr. Mitsotakis's government is in complete disarray. Why?;

It was clear that the speeches of Mr. Mitsotakis and his key associates were marked by a sense of urgency: they wanted to cement the 24-26% lead that the polls were giving them. The 41% of 2023 is already a distant past, and they know it. Worse still, all the qualitative data from the polls are extremely negative. Citizens consider them to be blatant liars, believe that they fought and are still fighting passionately to cover up the crime of Tembon, blame them for the high cost of living, and even believe that they were better off in 2015-2019.

However, the most significant problem facing Mr. Mitsotakis« government is that it has lost its emotional connection with the broad masses. All contemporary communication experts know that nowadays, it is mainly emotion that determines how people vote. In 2015, feelings of anger towards the two memorandum partners, New Democracy and PASOK, prevailed and led to SYRIZA's victory. In contrast, in 2019, disappointment prevailed because the expectations of citizens had not been met, nor had many of the pre-election promises of 2015. There was also the Mati fire, which led to votes for New Democracy. Now, feelings of disdain for the political system, but mainly for the government, prevail. And very few people are now coming forward to actively defend the government. The New Democracy of the past is now something else... The same communications experts say, »Tell me how people will feel on the Saturday before the election, and I'll tell you how they will vote on Sunday.«.

Now, the New Democracy party and Mr. Mitsotakis personally are investing in a single «card»: the fear of anarchy... As long as they have no visible government opponent, they will continue to invest in this. Furthermore, it is crucial whether the «bond» between Maximos and the various media barons will be fully restored. Those who understand, understand...

There is another factor: unity within the ranks of New Democracy, which has been shaken. Samaras« speech (in which he fiercely attacked the prime minister) was applauded by three sitting New Democracy MPs... Many MPs find it difficult to follow Mitsotakis's pirouettes, not because they are in favor of a »return to the traditional values of New Democracy,« but because the government majority is now facing phenomena of decay, corruption, and »every man for himself«... Many in New Democracy are anxious that their party will »become SYRIZA" with successive splits and internal infighting. This nervousness sometimes leads them to reveal their worst selves (or their true selves), as we saw with the outbursts of Georgiadis, Voridis, and the expelled MP Kyriazidis.

The New Democracy party's main concern is that the (albeit temporary) alliance between PASOK, SYRIZA, Plefsi Eleftherias, and Nea Aristera might become more permanent. The truth is that this is what a large portion of the public wants. However, it is equally true that this is not visible today, because everyone (admittedly to varying degrees) is primarily interested in their own party... But even if they decide to cooperate on a more regular basis, it will take a long time to convince citizens that this is a serious undertaking. How likely is it that potential PASOK voters would accept (for example) Ms. Konstantopoulou, or SYRIZA voters Ms. Diamantopoulou?;

Of course, there is something else: citizens now reject the majority of those who, in the recent or distant past, held positions of power and provoked them with their behavior. Clearly, there is no age limit for older politicians, nor are they all the same, but the demand for a renewal of political personnel is more than clear. At least at the forefront, citizens will no longer tolerate old-school opportunists with dry and unsympathetic rhetoric.

If the center-left and left-wing parties fail to articulate a convincing counterargument to the government, then—well—citizens will simply turn to the right wing of the New Democracy party...