Victory always begins in Thessaloniki, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his central pre-electoral speech of the northern capital on Wednesday night, ahead of the European elections on Sunday.
Speaking at the city's port during a light rain, he joked that the party "is an all-weather party," and said that he is always moved to be in Thessaloniki, the city that has elected him deputy.
"Thessaloniki always claims a special place in my heart, a place that it can also claim in the heart of Europe following Sunday's elections that will show up New Democracy as the great victor again," he said.
Mitsotakis referred to statesman and founder of New Democracy Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was born and raised in Macedonia, and who was responsible for Greece's becoming a member of the then-European Community. "He was the one who placed the country in the European family, and our party was the one to keep it in Europe when it was threatened by the trials of populism," the premier said. For New Democracy, being aligned with Europe is a national duty, he added.