Mitsotakis tours Pieria and Thessaloniki to promote regional projects and shore up northern support

Regional infrastructure talks in Kolindros

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis opened a two-day regional tour of Northern Greece on the morning of Friday, 2 October 2026, with an official stop in the municipality of Pydna-Kolindros. Mayor Christos Kompatsiaris, along with local residents and regional officials, welcomed the government delegation at the town hall. Mitsotakis led a working conference centered on local public works, municipal infrastructure, and ongoing developmental projects across the Pieria regional unit. Government representatives present at the discussions included Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis, Pieria Deputy Regional Governor Sofia Mavridou, and New Democracy members of parliament Anna Mani-Papadimitriou, Xenofon Baraliakos, and Spyros Koulkoudinas. Following the town hall meeting, the prime minister walked through the village square, spoke with residents, and sampled local Pieria pastries.

I am speaking about a Greece where all Greek women and all Greek men will have equal opportunities and access to the same services, there is no forgotten region of our country for us, and that is why I attach enormous importance to regional convergence.

Cultural stops across Mount Olympus and Katerini

Following his morning meetings in Kolindros, Mitsotakis traveled toward Mount Olympus for the next phase of the Pieria itinerary, which includes a visit to the Holy Monastery of Saint Dionysios of Olympus. At 17:00, the prime minister will deliver a formal address in Litochoro at the headquarters of the Olympus National Park Management Unit, attending an event dedicated to the inclusion of Mount Olympus in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The regional visit then proceeds to the city of Katerini during the late afternoon. There, Mitsotakis will tour public education and arts facilities, including the Katerini Cultural Center and the Katerini Music School. The day in Pieria concludes at 19:00 with an open public gathering, where the prime minister will meet and converse directly with local citizens in Katerini.

Bilateral relic agreement in Thessaloniki

The prime minister's tour continues on Saturday, 3 October 2026, in the neighboring regional hub of Thessaloniki. At 10:30, Mitsotakis will meet Bulgarian leader Rumen Radev at the Museum of Byzantine Culture. The two leaders will attend the official signing ceremony of a bilateral protocol governing the mutual delivery and return of historical and ecclesiastical relics between Greece and Bulgaria. This event marks a formal cultural coordination step between Athens and Sofia at one of Northern Greece's central museum institutions.

Political pressures and conservative voter retention

The visit to Pieria and Thessaloniki is the fifth time in six months that Mitsotakis has toured Northern Greece, following appearances at the Thessaloniki International Fair and trips through Central and Western Macedonia. Northern Greece has long served as a stronghold for the governing New Democracy party, but local dissatisfaction has grown over several regional policy issues. In Western Macedonia, economic adjustments tied to industrial de-lignitization have created friction, while agricultural communities in Central Macedonia face day-to-day production costs and administrative burdens. Local discontent has also centered on specific administrative appointments to state bodies. The right-wing Greek Solution party, led by Kyriakos Velopoulos, has gained ground among disaffected conservative voters across the northern prefectures, prompting increased direct outreach from government ministers and the prime minister.