Greek elections: Campaign with town hall meetings and social media – What Mitsotakis changes and what he’s keeping from the 2019 pre-election model

Kyriakos Mitsotakis seeks greater direct communication with citizens, so that he himself can pass on his messages, whether they concern the governance report or are related to the program for the next day.

After all, Alexis Tsipras is doing the same, planning tours that include leisurely walks, speeches in cafes and squares.

In view of the elections, the prime minister is also planning some town hall meetings, of a different content, i.e. thematic discussions in which the citizens’ questions are the first order of the day. The aim is to create an interactive discussion with a smaller but targeted audience in which Mitsotakis will explain his positions, while the party will record citizens’ concerns and requests.

The terminology (and the idea) comes from the US, but this model of pre-election debates with a specific theme has been tested and proven for the prime minister, as in 2019 he had called for an end to traditional party gatherings and to advance exclusively contacts with individual social and professional groups.

Kicking off today with Health

The beginning will take place this afternoon at the Athens Conservatory, where Mitsotakis will have a discussion with citizens on the subject of Health. The project, however, will continue, probably immediately, with a new theme. Public health is in any case at the top of New Democracy‘s program commitments, while SYRIZA and PASOK  also weigh in heavily on the issue.

Everything shows that the thematic events will also revolve around Mitsotakis’ main focus of commitment, that of the economy. But how the agenda and the way in which the project will develop remains to be seen .

Crash test 2019-2023

If a crash test were conducted on Mitsotakis’ pre-election activity in 2019 and 2023, one would record significant differences – or rather adaptations to the new political environment – but also some similarities.

Although in a sense town hall meetings have been tested in 2019, this time large, party gatherings are also in the frame. On the contrary, in every tour of the prime minister, a speech is organized before a party audience equioed with the requisite pre-election… accessories: blasthorns, banners, etc. There will also be two central gatherings – one in Thessaloniki, one in Athens – in the last week before the ballot. It is clear that in the face of the challenges of the simple proportional representation system, the party comes to the fore, with the massive gatherings necessary for the rally, even if elements of the American-style campaign of 2019 remain.

In terms of Mitsotakis’ target audience, in 2019 the central motto of New Democracy was that “we will return to the middle class what SYRIZA took from it”. The middle class was by far the most important field of confrontation in the Mitsotakis – Tsipras duel. Obviously, the middle class also remains the main common “target” of the party staffs, but they expect that they will effectively address further groups: the unemployed and vulnerable, pensioners, etc.

The agenda

In this context, as in 2019, Mitsotakis is trying to come forward with a “positive discourse”, in contrast to “gray and dismal campaign of SYRIZA”, as he said yesterday from Kifissia. Four years ago economic policy was at the center, as it is today, along with programmatic planning for tax cuts.

Now the agenda is expanding with social policy, in particular with the social dimension of New Democracy policies. The relevant signals have been given for months, since Mitsotakis has brought to the forefront questions such as “who can make the economy grow while constantly supporting society?”.

Young people and social media

As far as social media is concerned, New Democracy tried to emphasize as early as 2019, expecting that party messages will reach younger generations more effectively. According to a survey of 17-29-year-olds (Opinion Poll/The Toc), 51.4% of respondents answer that they are informed about the news mainly from social media. Followed by websites (18.4%), television (15.3%) and so on.

The need of Mitsotakis and the rest of the political leaders to speak to ages and groups that are less politicized and more skeptical of the political system has led them to… a barrage of posts on all social media – from the classic Facebook (the lengthy, Sunday achievement lisy by Mitsotakis is indicative) to TikTok (addressing generation Z).