Yannis Loverdos from Berlin: Greeks living abroad should exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections

Mr. Loverdos also expressed his confidence in a New Democracy victory and emphasized that the areas of foreign policy and defense are not suitable for opposition, as the government has had significant successes to show for itself in recent years. With an eye on the threats from Ankara, he assured that in the event of a violation of its national sovereignty, Greece would respond on the ground.

As part of his visit, Mr. Loverdos met with representatives of the Greek Community of Berlin, expressing his appreciation for their work and initiatives. The Greek diaspora in Germany, he noted, numbers more than 530,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom hold Greek citizenship, and our goal is to ensure the highest possible voter turnout in the elections. “Voting brings Greek communities closer to their homeland and fosters greater participation in public life,” said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs during his meeting with Greek correspondents. He added that there will also be a publicity campaign to attract voters, with a target of more than 100,000.

When asked about the technical aspects of the process, Mr. Loverdos noted that the Ministry of the Interior is preparing the relevant platform, which is expected to “go live” at the end of the month, so that interested parties can indicate whether they intend to exercise their right to vote in person or by mail. In any area where more than 30 people express interest in voting in person, an effort will be made to set up a polling station, he clarified, while also referring to absentee voting, emphasizing “absolutely guaranteed transparency” in the process.

Responding to questions regarding the political climate in Greece, Mr. Loverdos expressed his conviction that the elections would not be held immediately and predicted they would take place in March 2027. The goal of New Democracy, he said, is to form a self-sufficient government on the first Sunday. “There is no political leader who can present himself as a formidable opponent to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and at the last minute, even New Democracy voters who may have been undecided until now will chooseMr. Mitsotakis again, who is the safest choice among the current political figures,” he assessed.

Regarding the possibility of former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras founding a new party with an agenda focused primarily on diplomacy and defense, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that it would be very difficult and unfair to criticize the government in the areas of foreign policy and defense.

“This is the best part of the government’s work,” he said, citing, for example, the 3+1 cooperation, the vertical corridor, the U.S. refusal to approve the sale of F-35 trainer aircraft to Turkey, the deployment of the frigate Belharra “Kimon” to Cyprus, and the deployment of Patriot missiles on Karpathos, speaking of “a dynamic that we did not have” in the past and which “has cornered Ankara,” which is reacting to all of this with the “Blue Homeland” bill. Mr. Loverdos even predicted that the bill would be delayed, as it could cause tension, which is in no one’s interest. “If anything happens that violates our sovereign rights or our national sovereignty, we will respond on the ground. Greece will protect its sovereignty in accordance with international law—and the Turks know this very well by now,” he emphasized.

In the presence of the Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, a ceremony was held Tuesday evening at the Greek Embassy in Berlin to unveil a commemorative plaque honoring the donors of the plot of land on which the embassy’s new building was constructed, Grigorios Paikos and Nikolaos Bostantzoglou. The event was followed by an evening of rebetiko music performed by Spyros Polykandriotis and his band, organized by the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.