BAKOGIANNI: Kostas Karamanlis’ apparent intention not to attend the New Democracy convention in mid-May came as no surprise to party officials in Piraeus; however, as party leaders acknowledge, it is not exactly the best thing for the party’s cohesion and unity.
Dora Bakoyannis commented on the matter in an interview (with Parapolitika) when asked whether Kyriakos Mitsotakis should take another step toward the former prime minister.
“We agree. I do not equate Samaras with Karamanlis. I am saddened by this; we will make an effort to ensure he is present,”the former minister emphasized.
At the same time, she came to the defense of Minister of State Akis Skertsos, who has recently come under fire from several New Democracy MPs.
“Skerzos is an exceptionally capable technocrat; he has contributed a great deal and is entitled to his opinion. The article (on patronage and the role of MPs) was terribly misunderstood. It simply gave the impression that it was directed against the practices of MPs.”
Regarding Maki Voridis ’s reaction against Mr. Skertsos in particular, Ms. Bakogianni commented:“I think Voridis didn’t read it carefully.”
Makisdidn’t read it, according to Dora…
CHRYSOMALLIS: Following in the footsteps of his political mentor, Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy MP from Messinia, Milto Chrysomallis, is making his move.
Insisting on distancing himself from the official line on many issues, he chose to… reopen a deep old wound for New Democracy: same-sex marriage.
In fact, even though it is now state law, Mr. Chrysomallis directly challenged it and called for its immediate repeal
.“Unfortunately, we ourselves opened the backdoor to extreme and unchecked rights-based activism, and its ‘self-inflicted’ consequences are already here… Now, given the consequences we are seeing in practice following the Council of State’s decision, the repeal of this specific law is warranted,”noted the Messinian MP in an article (in Apogevmatini).
We hear that his actions have long been under scrutiny by the Prime Minister’s Office.
PAVLOS MARINAKIS: Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis tookaim atthe Prime Minister’s advisor on foreign affairs, Professor Sotiris Serbos, regarding a comment he made about the war in the Middle East.
Specifically, in an interview withERT, Mr. Serbos emphasized that“there is a consensus among all international analysts that, instead of a Venezuela-style scenario, there is a risk we could end up with a North Korea-style scenario. That is, a military regime in which, unfortunately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has emerged much stronger.”
He even spoke of strategic errors regarding the regime in Tehran. Mr. Serbos, Mr. Marinakis commented,“does not reflect the views of the Government and the Prime Minister. He is one of the advisors to the Prime Minister’s Office, but his statements are made in his capacity as an academic.
He has his own views, which he expresses publicly and sometimes during meetings, but foreign policy is shaped by the relevant ministry, the Prime Minister himself, and, overall, by the participants in the National Security Council.”
It should be noted that Mr. Serbos was also a New Democracy candidate for the European Parliament, and previously served—like several other government officials—in PASOK.
BONDS: Quietly but steadily, the war in the Middle East is spilling over… into government bonds. Because while all eyes may be on stocks and oil, the message in the bond market is just as clear: yields are rising, and so is the cost of borrowing.
The picture for European 10-year bonds is telling. Greece at 3.78%, Italy at 3.83%, France at 3.68%, Spain at 3.49%—all showing upward movements throughout the day. Even Germany is trading above 3%, levels that just a few years ago would have seemed… far-fetched.
What does this mean in practice? That risk is being “priced in” at a higher cost. And when geopolitical risk rises, investors demand higher returns to hold government debt.
Simply put, war doesn’t just drive up energy prices—it also drives up the cost for countries that want to borrow. The cost is 50 basis points higher than a year ago in Greece and France, and 56 basis points higher in “powerhouse” Germany.
PPC: The direct attack launched yesterday by Alexis Tsipras against the government and the company’s management, along with his opposition to the €4 billion capital increase, brought back memories of 2019 for some in the market.
Back then, in an era of international competition and major challenges, PPC was run like an outdated public utility. It owed money everywhere, and everyone owed it money. The 2018 financial results were disastrous, the auditors at Ernst & Young were warning of the worst, and everything around us smelled of bankruptcy.
“We don’t need more hospitals and schools, or public investments to address the housing crisis in our country. Our priority is the Stasis-Mitsotakis investments in Romania and Hungary. An investment risk with no guarantee of return for Greek consumers,” Mr. Tsipras sarcastically notes in his post, which bears the bombastic title“The Big Scam with the Public Power Corporation.”
He speaks of “a scam that will cost Greek taxpayers and energy consumers as much as many OPECEPE schemes combined,” and raises the question of whether the benefit (from the capital increase) for citizens will be proportional to the added value created for its private shareholders, citing CVC.
DEH II: As our interlocutor with extensive experience in the energy sector comments, the former Prime Minister’s post seems to overlook that era when PPC was under strict state control, with the well-known results of debt ballooning and the collapse we witnessed in 2019.
At that time, it was valued at around 300 million euros, meaning the state’s 51% stake was worth around 150 million euros. Today, as he himself notes, the value of PPC is close to 7 billion euros, meaning the state’s 33% stake is worth around 2.3 billion euros—that is, many times more than in 2019.
PPC III: In reality, Tsipras’s post yesterday regarding PPC brings to the surface once again the two distinct schools of thought regarding the economy and entrepreneurship. One is the school of thought that wants companies, such as DEH, to remain under the strict control of the state, without attracting investors and new capital, but to develop through a state-centric model, with all the opportunities that this offers them.
The other school of thought concerns a company in which the state retains a statutory minority stake of 33%, and with private shareholders who, as the results show, have enabled PPC to be profitable, to announce a €24 billion investment plan, aiming to double its size by 2030, one of the largest data centers in Europe, but above all to become increasingly independent of the narrow Greek market.
According to its new plan, by 2030, 40% of its profits will come from abroad.
Reality itself, as our interlocutor observes, has proven that this initial line of thinking failed miserably, reminding us not only that in 2019 the company was on the brink of collapse, with banks refusing to lend to it and the market treating it as a systemic risk, but also that its sole international presence was a bankrupt electricity supplier in North Macedonia…
MACRON: The French President could not believe his eyes when Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented him with his gift during the meeting between the two leaders in Athens. Apparently, the Greek Prime Minister knew that Emmanuel Macron is a fan of running and made sure to “hit the mark” with a relevant—and Greek—gift.
When Macron held the Ena Athletics running shoes in his hands, he did not hide his enthusiasm. “Unbelievable, are they really Greek?” he remarked, impressed by the quality of the construction and their light weight.
ETE-ALLIANZ: Reliable sources in the insurance sector report that the talks and procedures regarding the strategic partnership between the two sides, which have been ongoing for several months, are expected to bear fruit (finally) in May.
EUREKA: The well-known home products company is proceeding with a dividend distribution of €1.8 million.
The amount comes from accumulated profits from previous years, specifically from the fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
ONEX: ONEX Technology Systems & Business Solutions S.A. is proceeding with intra-group financial support.
The company approved the provision of a guarantee of up to €3 million to Optima Bank in favor of its affiliate ONEX Neorion Shipyards S.A.
INTRACOM: What stands out from a review of Intracom Holdings’ financial statements is the explicit direction provided by management to continue the policy of acquiring stakes in listed companies in Greece and abroad, in sectors where it expects high capital gains.
As of December 31, 2025, the group held net cash of €73.4 million and bond investments worth €29 million, while it is expected to receive €54 million by July from the sale of the (Adrianou) to the Alpha Group (ABinvest).
P.S. It should be noted that the stock surged to €3.45 on the trading board, up 8.83%.
INTRACOM II: Intracom Holdings is in the final stages of selling its 60% stake in Wonder Nest (note: established in May 2024 through the spin-off of KLM’s baby and children’s products division).
On April 9, a non-binding Letter of Interest subject to contract was signed among Wonder Nest ’s shareholders, subject to the completion of due diligence and the conclusion of a binding agreement.
Intracom Holdings values its 60% stake in Wonder Nest at €3 million on its books. It should be noted that Violetta Lappa owns 40% of the company, having purchased it in July 2024 from KLM for €2 million.
SIDMA: SIDMA has implemented or will implement price increases to incorporate the rising international costs of raw material procurement and production, in order to maintain healthy profit margins. This is stated by its management in the financial statements, noting thata “dynamic pricing policywill be implemented, incorporating increases in international costs…”.
Natural gas prices in Europe rose by 75% in March, affecting steel mills’ operating costs.
SIDMA II: This year is marked by significant volatility due to conflict in the Middle East, the imposition of trade tariffs, and supply chain constraints.
In addition, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBA) for steel imports from third countries, which took effect on January 1, has led to a price increase of around 10% as European production, on the one hand, is characterized by higher costs, and on the other hand, by tight delivery schedules.
According to management, this impact is not expected to affect the financial results for the current fiscal year, as the tariff is expected to take effect in September 2027.
LOULIS MILLS: Loulis management intends to propose a dividend of €0.18 per share at the listed company’s upcoming annual general meeting.
While this amount is lower than last year’s (€0.30), it still yields a dividend yield of 4.6%, even though only 54% of last year’s net consolidated earnings will be distributed.
Based on yesterday’s closing price, the P/E ratio (2025 earnings of €5.61 million versus €7.17 million in 2024) stands at 11.9, with the stock trading 39% below its book value.
QUEST: Although yesterday’s press conference focused on the subsidiary Unisystems, Theodoros Fessas did not shy away from answering a series of questions regarding the Quest Group.
He admitted that“our strategy as a holding company to invest exclusively in companies over which we would have control was a mistake. This choice deprived us of the opportunity to invest in companies that subsequently grew significantly.The partial shift in strategy began with our investment in the Fourlis Group.”
Regarding this investment, he said,“It is not out of the question that there may be some form of collaboration between Quest and Fourlis in the future. Quest operates in retail, and the Fourlis Group has retail sales platforms. However, there is currently nothing to announce. Whether and what will happen remains to be seen in the future.”
Specifically regarding Unisystems, he explained that there are currently no plans for an independent IPO. Such a move is not ruled out, but at present it is viewed as a last resort in the event that the IT subsidiary wishes to raise capital.
Regarding whether the company could be sold:“We operate and develop each of our subsidiaries with a long-term perspective of… two hundred years. However, Quest is a holding company, and we do not reject potential offers that add value to a company and are accompanied by a reasonable valuation.”
“As the Quest Group, we have had many discussions with many parties in the past,”he added.