SAMARAS: The power struggle between the Prime Minister’s Office and the former prime minister has already begun, even though the former prime minister’s new political party has not yet been officially announced.
With a shared goal of targeting the “gray zone” of the many right-leaning, undecided voters, the two camps are beginning to unfold their strategies, guided by the aim of eliminating the opponent and maximizing electoral gains.
Just a few days after Messinios’s intervention from Crete, his press office director, Nikos Tsioutsias, in a television interview (on OPEN), accused New Democracy of resorting to… dirty tricks. “Clearly, there is a plan to undermine Antonis Samaras within New Democracy. He is being deliberately targeted… He responds politically, and they respond with insults.”
He emphasized that the differences between Mitsotakis and Samaras are political, not personal, and called on the government “to look in the mirror and see what it must do to avoid falling. It won’t be Samaras’s fault, but the government’s policy.”
The response came from New Democracy spokesperson Alexandra Sdoukou: “We are responding to an unfair attack by Mr. Samaras regarding the record of the prime minister and the government. However, this is neither an organized plan nor is it being presented as one; it is a purely political response.
Beyond that, if Mr. Samaras wishes to form a new party, we will oppose him politically, and the Greek people will judge him when the time comes,” she noted on ERTNews.
Tensions are also mounting in the “right-wing coalition.”
MITSOTAKIS: Elections in the fall? Elections in the spring? When will the elections finally take place? ChatGPT provided the answer, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis endorsed it at the event hosted by the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence marking the 6th anniversary of gov.gr.
“We are looking toward 2027; ChatGPT correctly answered regarding the timing of the elections. We will present our program so that we can once again seek the vote of Greek citizens,” the prime minister noted, insisting on the institutional process despite scenarios suggesting he will make his final decisions at the end of the summer.
By then, moreover, many open issues are expected to have been resolved, such as the debate on constitutional reform (which begins today) and the completion of the Recovery Fund milestones.
Then all the data will be weighed, and the electoral dice will be... rolled.
STATISTICS: You’ve likely heard a lot about Russia’s major economic problems, or about its “meager” GDP compared to the major countries of the European Union, which may leave you wondering how it has managed to sustain the war in Ukraine for so many years, when Ukraine receives massive economic (and military) aid from the West.
The answer lies in comparing GDPs in terms of “purchasing power parity” (PPP), which paints a completely different picture by capturing a country’s true economic potential, regardless of exchange rates.
By these measures and according to official data from the International Monetary Fund, China’s economy is already nearly 37% larger than the U.S. economy, while Russia ranks fourth, behind China, the U.S., and India, but ahead of… Japan, as well as Germany.
It surpassed the former in 2024 and the latter in 2021, while continuing to grow at slightly higher rates than those countries.
Furthermore, when it comes to debt, there is simply no comparison. Russia’s public debt is approximately 20% of GDP, according to the IMF; Germany’s stands at 64.6%, among the lowest in the EU; and Japan’s at... 204%.
Similarly, regarding private debt, according to BIS data, it stands at 103% of GDP in Russia, 138.6% in Germany, and 178%in Japan.
In any case, Russia’s economy is on the verge of… collapsing due to sanctions that have now been in place for four years!
STATISTICS II: Equally, if not more, interesting is that Russia has surpassed—again in terms of purchasing power parity—seven EU countries in “per capita GDP.” Among them is… Greece.
These countries, besides our own, are Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. This does not, of course, mean that the average Russian is better off than the average resident of these countries.
This is a simple division of GDP by population, which does not reflect the stratification of income and purchasing power.
Returning to the overall economy, however, Turkey now ranks as the 11th largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the IMF—one spot behind the United Kingdom, but ahead of Italy and South Korea.
Under the same terms, its economy is 8.2 times the size of Greece’s. This fact provides a much more realistic picture of its potential. However, given its population, “GDP per capita” remains at slightly lower levels than in Greece.
Finally, note that according to IMF data for 2026, again in terms of purchasing power parity for GDP, Indonesia and Brazil have surpassed countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. And they are growing at much faster rates.
All of the above clearly illustrate how the center of gravity of international economic activity is now shifting away from Europe and traditional powers.
ANGELICOU: Maran Dry Management, part of the Angelicou Group, has sold two of the oldest capesize vessels in its fleet to a Chinese company.
The deal comes at a time of increased interest from Chinese groups in second-hand bulk carriers, which are used to transport Chinese exports, primarily steel products.
According to TradeWinds, Maran Dry Management sold the capesize vessels Maran Argonaut (177,835 dwt, built in 2009) and Maran Happiness (177,720 dwt, built in 2008) for a total of approximately $60 million.
The buyer is reportedly the Chinese trading company Solos, based in Tianjin, which is active in the supply of steel products and industrial materials. The price of approximately $30 million per vessel is considered consistent with current market valuations for ships of this age.
Following the sale, Maran Dry retains two additional 2007-built capesize vessels in its fleet, while simultaneously pursuing a major renewal program, with four new 181,000 dwt capesize vessels under construction at the Chinese shipyard Hengli Shipbuilding.
PALIOU: The battle for control of the American company Genco Shipping is taking a new turn, as Semiramis Palio’s Diana Shipping has withdrawn four of the six candidates it had proposed for the American company’s board of directors.
Genco described the move as an act of “desperation” and an attempt to influence the hostile takeover bid.
Diana, which is Genco’s largest shareholder, abandoned its plan to completely replace the board of directors after the three major U.S. shareholder advisory firms expressed support for the current management.
However, it continues to push for the election of two executives, Jens Ismar and Paul Cornell, arguing that “new and independent voices” are needed on the board, regardless of the outcome of the takeover bid.
Genco, for its part, called on shareholders to reject the proposal, emphasizing that the board has already handled Diana’s offer appropriately, which it continues to view as inadequate and not in the shareholders’ best interest.
MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT: The countdown has begun for the unveiling of PosoKanei, the new digital price comparison platform that aims to become a key hub for consumer information.
As this column has learned, the official launch is expected very soon by the head of the Independent Authority for Market Control and Consumer Protection, Despoina Tsangari, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at a time when inflation has returned.
The new tool will be powered, as Euro2day.gr revealed in early March, with data on thousands of products, both branded and private-label, from organized retail, utilizing data from Circana Hellas, so that consumers have an immediate picture of where and at what price each product is sold.
The challenge, of course, is not just the technology but the mass adoption of the platform, as the government is betting that greater price transparency will serve as an additional tool to exert pressure at a time when inflation appears to be gaining momentum.
ENERGY: And the name of this company is Phoseco S.A. It is the company founded by IXION Energy and X Trading, active in the production, trading, and storage of electricity.
The company was established with a capital of 500,000 euros and is headquartered in Marousi, with IXION Energy holding a 51% stake and X Trading holding 49%.
Phoseco will operate across the entire spectrum of the energy market, from project development to electricity trading. Ioannis Hatzavramidis has been appointed Chairman and Kimon Botsis CEO.
HOLDING: Businessman Lazaros Ioannidis proceeded with the establishment of LAIO Single-Member IKE, creating a new holding company based in Thessaloniki with a capital of €5.7 million.
The majority of the capital came from a contribution in kind, through the transfer of 1.575 million shares of Agrophoenix S.A., which were valued at €5.65 million.
Through the new company, Mr. Ioannidis is consolidating his stake in Agrophoenix into a single investment vehicle for the management of his holdings.
APOSTOLOS KORRES: The Cypriot company HERBARIUM HOLDING LIMITED has established a presence in Greece through the incorporation of BIBLIOTECA HERBA Single-Member S.A.
The new company, headquartered in Kifissia with a share capital of 25,000 euros, operates in the investment sector and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cypriot holding company.
The chairman of the first board of directors is the well-known businessman Apostolos Korres.
LAMDA MALLS: The company is expected to distribute a dividend of €7.59 million to its parent company, Lamda Development, from its 2025 fiscal year profits.
Additionally, according to the Board of Directors’ proposal, €734,000 will be distributed to members of the board of directors, as well as €347,426.25 to employees of the parent company (€250,870) and other companies in the Lamda Group (€96,500).
QUALCO: Qualco’s board of directors is proposing to the shareholders the adoption of a three-year long-term incentive plan for executive board members, executives, and staff.
The program provides for the free allocation of shares through the capitalization of profits, distributable reserves, or share premium, in order to align the interests of beneficiaries with business objectives and maximize shareholder value, as well as to retain and attract executives and talented employees.
The maximum number of shares to be distributed amounts to 6,000,000 shares, or 8.6% of the share capital
METLEN: The entire management team of Evangelos Mytilineos’s group held meetings yesterday with four funds invited by Bank of America.
According to this column, these are powerful funds, dominant in the raw materials sector. What caught their interest in Metlen, beyond the broader business model, is its involvement in critical raw materials, particularly gallium. That is why a visit to the Greek group’s facilities is also on the agenda.
It is worth noting that the stock closed yesterday at €42.10, up 3.49%. It is now at its highest level since February 6, following the profit warning regarding 2025 EBITDA. Since the year’s low, it has already posted a return of nearly 29%.
It is worth noting that on the London Stock Exchange, the stock is trading at a lower price than on the Athens Stock Exchange. Yesterday’s closing price was €40.52, up 1.5%.