Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with his speech and press conference at the Thessaloniki International Fair, was speaking mainly to what is considered the middle class.

He addressed citizens who are conservative, in the broad sense of the word, and who remember the good life – those who seek calm, security, and decent schools for their children, and who are attracted more by an open, productive society, with lower taxes and a smaller public sector, who despise a dynastic state which exhausts its function with revenue-raising, and who seek greater opportunities for themselves and for the private sector, rather than for the state.

He wanted to satisfy the patriotic sentiments of a middle class which is devoted to tradition and was wounded by the FYROM naming solution. He also wanted to bolster his popular profile by repeatedly stressing that his plan aims to revive the battered mechanism of social mobility, which characterised post-war Greece.

He thus sought to draw a distinction between himself and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

In his speech, the PM addressed mainly those hit hardest by the crisis, the poorer classes and those headed toward impoverishment. The core of his vision was more the state and its mechanisms, and less private production and initiative.

There is a common conviction that Mitsotakis left a good impression in Thessaloniki. He was cool and studied, and he avoided communications errors. His message and target were clear.

By all appearances, he cleared up the terrain in the broad, conservative part of the political spectrum.
Mitsotakis covers broader groups of voters, from the erstwhile modernising faction of Pasok to variations of the nationalist right-wing.

If there are no surprises on the way to the general election, Mr.Mitsotakis’ New Democracy is in a position to represent the overwhelming majority of citizens in that swathe of the political spectrum.

Mitsotakis’ words and ideas, and the concepts that he conveys, can replace a plethora of smaller forces and individuals who seek votes from the same electoral audience.

Many analysts believe that Mitsotakis’ strategy can neutralise various kindred political formations.

Over time, parties such as Potami, the Centrists’ Union, and the Independent Greeks – as well as smaller vociferous, nationalist, and right-wing formations – will have no raison d’etre.

Many believe that the next elections will categorically determine the boss in the broader, centre-right portion of the political spectrum.

In the elections after the next general election, one will have a clearer picture of who will lead the centre-left. That will take more time, as it remains to be seen if Mr. Tsipras can transform his party into a radical, Social Democratic formation, and whether he can lead the broader centre-left, or whether Movement for Change leader Fofi Gennimata will have the endurance and capability to bring a rebirth to her party.

In any event, we are again headed toward a political system dominated by a centre-right and a centre-left pole, as was the case throughout the post-junta period, up to the crisis.

New Democracy survived the great crisis and appears poised to construct a viable centre-right political pole.
The centre-left will have to wait longer for its new political terrain to emerge.