In this age of distraction and the dominance of social media, people – even politicians – find it hard to speak for five minutes without a written text in front of them.
This was keenly observed at the 16th Congress of the New Democracy, held at the Metropolitan Expo.
The exception was Giorgos Gerapetritis. The foreign minister took to the podium without papers or boules, attempting a comprehensive review of Greek foreign policy from 2019 to date.
The emphasis, as expected, was on the achievements of his own term: from the submission of the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) to Chevron’s exploration of the sea blocks south of Crete, etc.
For his standards, Gerapetritis appeared more “lively” than usual. He spoke about the external threats the country faced, and made references to the party’s timeless “responsible patriotism”.
The audience applauded him warmly. The Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Economic Diplomacy, Charis Theocharis, who was seated in the front row, did not limit himself to applause, but also applauded his minister with a whistle.
Soon afterwards, Mr. Gerapetritis left the conference, as he had a scheduled business meeting, despite it being a Saturday.
In addition, he is also preparing for next Monday’s meeting of the CSCEO.
The agenda is not yet known, but it is considered certain that Turkey will be in the spotlight. In Athens, Ankara’s moves and especially the discussions on the institutionalization of the revisionist and expansionist doctrine of the “Blue Homeland” are being watched with great attention.
Officials dealing with national security issues believe that the neighbor is preparing for a “hot” summer, which in Athens translates into the need for increased readiness and operational alertness.
Diplomat
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