Mitsotakis: 'ND has always protected national interests at every critical moment'

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday said he has been to "every corner in Greece, met thousands of Greeks, saw the disappointment in their eyes about the years lost in the crisis," speaking at the party's main rally in Thessaloniki. 

"Our struggle concerns the youth, first and foremost," he said while praising Greece's long history, "which reminds us how our nation achieves great things when united."

On Greece's Prespes Agreement signed with neighboring North Macedonia, Mitsotakis reiterated that he intends to retain the right to veto its EU accession course, a warning he repeated in terms of Albania's protection of the Greek minority's rights. He also said he would seek the international recognition of the genocide of Pontic Greeks. 

Protecting the national interests, especially in relation to borders, was another key point raised by Mitsotakis, who said that New Democracy has always defended those interests "at every critical moment in Greece's history since 1974, with realism and truth."
The ND leader reiterated his intent to abolish university asylum, which forbids unauthorized entrance to army and police, and said students should be able to study without fear from self-styled antiestablishment hood-wearers on the campus.

Urban security, another high priority, is something that Mitsotakis prioritized, saying that the state "must protect citizens from criminals and petrol bomb violence," referring to clashes between anarchists and the police and the destruction of storefronts during them. 

The main opposition leader also promised a one-off 2,000 euro bonus "for every child born in Greece."

Mitsotakis said he intends to work closely with regional authorities, planning to eventually interlink all the major cities in northern Greece with Egnatia national highway. "Thessaloniki must again become a hub of education, culture, and tourism," he added. 

On May 26 "we vote and on May 27 we turn a page," Mitsotakis told the crowd, "a new page that we must write together," he concluded.