Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis published a social media video highlighting his official tour of Western Macedonia, delivering a message of economic optimism for the region's future.
In one moment featured in the video, the prime minister showed a tie with a smile and remarked on how green turns into blue, before stating that Western Macedonia had every reason to look ahead with confidence.
Mitsotakis leads the ruling New Democracy party, which traditionally uses blue as its official political color. Western Macedonia is a mountainous administrative region in northern Greece bordering North Macedonia and Albania that has historically served as the national center for energy production and heavy coal mining.
Minimum wage and farming commitments
During a stop in Kozani, Mitsotakis announced that the national minimum wage in Greece will rise above 950 euros per month prior to the next general elections. Kozani serves as the administrative capital of the Western Macedonia region and functions as a major commercial center in northern Greece.
Visiting local agricultural production facilities in Florina, the prime minister pledged that his administration would provide direct support to Greek livestock farming, placing a specific emphasis on safeguarding national feta cheese production. Florina is a border town known for its traditional dairy farming and agricultural output.
Mitsotakis also posted video content discussing vehicle preferences between petrol, diesel, and electric transportation, framing driver choices within the broader national transition toward cleaner energy sources.
Energy transition and lignite policy in Ptolemaida
Speaking in Ptolemaida, Mitsotakis addressed the industrial transformation of the region, declaring that anyone telling residents that Western Macedonia could return to lignite coal was lying to them. Ptolemaida was historically the heartland of Greek thermal power generation and heavy lignite extraction.
The prime minister affirmed that the Public Power Corporation, Greece's primary electric utility, remains actively engaged in Western Macedonia as energy infrastructure transitions toward renewable power sources.
Alongside regional energy pledges, the government detailed a 5.3 billion euro post-Recovery Fund investment framework. The state package includes financing options for electric vehicles at 150 euros per month, the construction of 2,750 residential housing units, and an expanded heating allowance for domestic households.
Clash with PASOK and national employment figures
Mitsotakis launched a sharp political attack against Nikos Androulakis, leader of the opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement, known as PASOK. The prime minister accused Androulakis of confusion, promise-mongering, and incompetence.
Mitsotakis argued that PASOK was aligning itself politically with forces that had previously pushed Greece toward financial collapse. PASOK is a long-standing center-left political party in Greece that forms a major opposition block in the Hellenic Parliament.
Defending the economic record of the administration, Minister of State Akis Skertsos stated that unemployment in Greece had fallen to 8 percent, down from 17 percent in 2019. Skertsos noted that the reduction was narrowing the economic performance gap between Greece and the Eurozone average.
Hospital funding and Civil War anniversary speech
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced a 1.5 million euro renovation project for clinical facilities at KAT Hospital. Situated in Kifisia, a northern suburb of Athens, KAT Hospital operates as one of the chief trauma centers and public medical facilities in the Greek capital.
Georgiadis also addressed the anniversary marking the end of the Greek Civil War, a conflict fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek government army and communist insurgent forces.
Referencing a historic 1949 address by former Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, Georgiadis stated that it was fortunate for the country that the Left was defeated in the war.
Diplomatic responses to Turkey over the Aegean
In foreign policy developments, the Greek government in Athens responded to diplomatic statements from Ankara, dismissing Turkish claims concerning the Aegean Sea as unfounded and lacking any legal basis.
Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis stated that Turkey was reacting strongly because Greece was actively defending its legitimate sovereign rights under international law. Gerapetritis directs foreign policy from the ministry headquarters in Athens.
Tensions flared after Turkish officials revived claims regarding grey zones in the Aegean Sea, objecting to Greece's newly adopted Special Spatial Framework for Industry.
Opposition initiatives and parliamentary controversies
Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, former leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left, known as SYRIZA, presented a National Reconstruction Plan for the country. Tsipras stated that Greece needed to increase production, distribute economic resources more fairly, and enable citizens to live better lives.
Government representative Thanos Plevris criticized Tsipras's plan to deliver a speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair prior to the prime minister's address, describing the scheduling as a political provocation. The annual trade fair in Thessaloniki is a major venue for economic policy announcements in Greece.
Within SYRIZA, lawmaker Pavlos Polakis declared his interest in running for the party leadership while keeping open a potential campaign for mayor of Chania, a major port city on the island of Crete.
Party friction intensified after former SYRIZA official Nikos Karanikas described lawmaker Elena Akrita as an influencer who was unfit for the role of Vice President of Parliament. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis threatened legal action over a social media post published by Akrita.
In parliament, Deputy Minister Evangelos Tournas accused Zoe Konstantopoulou, leader of the Course of Freedom party, of systematic bullying during debate. Konstantopoulou responded by asking whether that was what he had been taught during his military service.
In other political activity, Culture Minister Olga Kefalogianni published a photograph of sunflowers on her social media account.
