ND—STATEMENTS: The New Democracy parliamentary spokesperson, Stratos Simopoulos, appeared somewhat unprepared on a Naftemporiki TV show, during which he clashed with PASOK MEP Nikolaos Farantouris on one of the latter’s favorite topics: Greek-Turkish relations.
The gaffe was what you might call… monumental.
The otherwise likable New Democracy MP was pressed hard by Farantouris to take a stance, as a New Democracy spokesperson, on the latest developments being pushed by Turkey within the framework of NATO, despite the neighboring country’s ongoing provocations toward Greece and Cyprus.
From the establishment of new Alliance headquarters in Istanbul and Adana to the procurement of American engines for the fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet it is developing.
It seems that the… newly appointed parliamentary spokesperson could not withstand this pressure, resulting in a completely paradoxical response to Farantouris’s persistent “demand.”
“Why not?” said—and blurted out—Simopoulos, apparently flustered, on the issue of the command centers, going on to add, for those who hadn’t already fallen off their… chairs, that “We are not adversaries within NATO; within the framework of NATO, we are allies with Turkey”!
And with a single stroke, he thus undid decades of power struggles within the Alliance, where successive Greek governments had fought tooth and nail to gain ground—even if only marginally—to prevent the Alliance from acting in Turkey’s interests.
Antonis Samaras hears statements like these and rubs his hands together. It’s probably hard for her not to hear about this, too, since Farantouris—who’s experienced in such matters—rushed to… highlight it on social media.
P.S.: Regardless of his apparent inexperience, however, Simopoulos would do well to be more careful with what he says on national issues. Among other reasons, because he is elected in Thessaloniki and primarily addresses a “right-wing” party audience, which pays very close attention to such matters.
CONSULTING FIRMS: It appears that consulting firms will soon be joining the banks and a few other specific sectors in the crucible of political confrontation.
A clear first sign of this—beyond the… backlashes they’ve faced recently over the lucrative contracts they’ve secured in recent years, both within and outside the public sector—is the “curtain” that was raised a few days ago on a special project by the well-known website Vouliwatch.gr.
The project’s name sets the tone for what follows, as it is titled “Consultocracy.” The figures are indeed striking, as, according to the report, we’re talking about hundreds of millions in annual revenue from the public sector, which skyrocketed after 2020–2021, with a high percentage of direct contracts.
The authors of the paper express multiple concerns, raising issues of transparency, predetermined policies, and various other matters of interest, which, as they themselves note, concern not only Greece but also other countries.
One such imported practice—among many—is the systematic use of private consultants by the government.
Of course, there is also the counterargument: the pressure of the pandemic, the need for rapid digitization, as well as the major projects brought about by the Recovery Fund, with a tight timeline by Greek standards.
Moreover, another major question arises: with a public administration that has proven ineffective, with ministerial advisors who come and go with their ministers—often of dubious qualifications, save for their… loyalty to their political superiors—without permanent planning structures and with underpaid staff, what alternative was there?
In situations like this, however, political confrontation is relentless. Some have already been… taken down. But now that a wealth of evidence has come to light, the ammunition is piling up.
SYRIZA: As we’ve been saying for days now: Socrates Famellos discovered yesterday that… there is a Plan B for SYRIZA, and that is to participate (as a party) in the elections, even though at the Central Committee meeting on June 6 he emphatically stated: SYRIZA must not field a slate in the elections that runs against Alexis Tsipras’s ELAS, and “there is no Plan B” beyond that.
What happened in the meantime (as we mentioned yesterday) was not Alexis’s new “no” to electoral cooperation between ELAS and SYRIZA (Editor’s note: he’d said this a dozen times before…) but the risk that President Socrates might lose… the presidency.
Pavlos Polakis made a splash yesterday, speaking about the election of new leadership and announcing that he would be a candidate for it.
And since the new meeting of the Central Committee (to overturn the previous decision, which was based on Famellos’s proposal at the time) has been officially scheduled for July 11, those still interested in developments within SYRIZA should sit back and wait for the new clashes.
The fact that such developments vindicate Tsipras—who stormed out to found something “of his own”—probably doesn’t interest them.
On social media, however, the revelry has begun among those leaving SYRIZA en masse, singing a paraphrased version of the well-known song: “Take our geranium, take our wreath; we have no life left at Koumoundourou…”
PASOK: Fortunately, Harilaou Trikoupi called on the Hellenic Police (ELAS) to comment on a post by “its member Nikos Bistis,” because that’s how it became known that the individual in question is not a member of Tsipras’s party.
PASOK’s pointed statement cites Nikos Bistis’s position on the laying of the Cyprus-Greece power interconnection cable (“it should not be a unilateral action”) and asks Amalia: “Is this the official position of ELAS?” and “Is this the patriotism Mr. Tsipras speaks of?”
Hellenic Police officials referred to the list containing the names of the five representatives, the 50 sector heads, and the 400 members of the National Council, on which Mr. Bistis’s name does not appear anywhere.
He himself clarified this shortly afterward: he said he supports ELAS, but does not belong to its leadership…
PASOK II: The party leadership, however, is not only refusing to revise its electoral goal of becoming “the leading party in the elections,” but is also characterizing it as achievable, in defiance of the questions raised by officials such as Christos Kaklamanis and Nadia Giannakopoulou.
“We’re not revising anything. The goal is to come in first because that’s the only way political change can happen. Under the current electoral law, if PASOK does not come in first, we will have a New Democracy government. That is a given. Therefore, the goal remains the same,” the party’s press secretary, Kostas Tsoukalas, stated bluntly.
And he reiterated the party’s stance on the poll results that raised (and continue to raise…) questions: “A temporary shift in the polls is reasonable when new parties are being formed. It already appears that these parties have hit a ceiling and have limited potential.”
The problem is that analysts, studying the same polls, see a “ceiling”—but… for PASOK, which does not seem to be breaking out of the 10–11% range in voting intent. (Editor’s note: The percentage in the ALCO poll presented yesterday is 10.4%).
So, we await the first fall polls.
ANDROULAKIS: Because he heard… the PASOK president’s comments on the much-discussed proposal regarding a 4-day workweek with full pay for companies with more than 20 employees, he now appears to be (more or less) vindicated regarding the implementation of the voluntary four-day workweek program announced by OTE.
“I am pleased that large companies are launching pilot programs for the four-day workweek, as has been successfully implemented in other European countries,” he stated yesterday from Karpathos, elaborating on this position along with his other stance on social housing.
Naturally, the people of Karpathos aren’t interested in all of this, but, being kind and hospitable, they treated President Nikos and his entourage to stuffed eggplant and zucchini blossoms.
HELLENIC GOLD: Over the course of last year, the company carried out 40 exploratory drillings with the aim of locating new reserves.
At the Olympias mine, 19 surface drill holes were completed, 9 of which confirmed the presence of new mineralization, varying in thickness from 3 to 7 meters.
At Stratoni, 20 surface drill holes were completed, 19 of which identified skarn-type rocks of varying thickness and sulfide (i.e., chemical compounds of metals with sulfur), ranging from 5 to 30 meters; and at Mavres Petres, one borehole was completed, which identified lead and zinc deposits 5 to 11 meters thick, though within geotechnically poor rock mass.
In short, reserves exist and were discovered at just the right time.
HELLENIC GOLD II: As of December 31, 2025, the company had a receivable of 144.39 million euros from the Greek government due to VAT payables.
Of this receivable, €82.4 million related to VAT payable for the 2025 fiscal year, which was collected within the first three months of this year.
DIVIDENDS: Several companies listed on the Stock Exchange are trading as of today ex-dividend for the 2025 dividend, as the relevant ex-dividend dates take effect.
Alpha Bank is trading ex-dividend with a final gross dividend of €0.0656 per share; together with the interim dividend, the total payout for fiscal year 2025 amounts to €0.114 per share, with a total dividend yield of approximately 2.9%.
At the same time, the stock is also supported by the share buyback program, which brings total distributions to shareholders for 2025 to €519 million, in line with management’s commitment to distribute 55% of net profits.
OTE is also trading without a dividend of €0.90214 per share (yield 4.64%), payable on July 7.
HELLENiQ ENERGY is paying a dividend of €0.4004 per share (3.64%), while TITAN is distributing €1.10 per share (2.13%).
Finally, Flexopack is trading ex-dividend at €0.175 per share (2.16%).
AKTOR: The stock continues to hit one record after another. Yesterday, it reached €13.78, with a gain of 2.84%, and even traded just a hair’s breadth away from €14. Trading volume remains high, with shares worth nearly 13 million euros changing hands.
As a result, since June 15, the stock has posted a return of over 39%.
PPA: The management of the “Piraeus Port Authority” was cautious during the general shareholders’ meeting.
The heads of the PPA Board of Directors limited themselves to noting the positive trend in the port’s operations, pointing out that the past two months have seen an increase in container traffic.
In fact, as they noted, the end of the war in the Middle East and the stabilization of the international environment are expected to provide a further boost to activity.
At the same time, management referred to the momentum observed in the hotel investment sector, where projects are still in the planning stages and are expected to contribute to the upgrading not only of the port but also of the wider region.
On the stock market, however, the upward trend continued. The price of 45.5 euros (+5.32%) is approaching last October’s levels.
REFINERIES: The market continues to underestimate the sustainable profitability of HelleniQ Energy and Motor Oil, Eurobank Equities emphasizes in its report, noting that the two stocks combine significant upside potential with particularly attractive dividend yields.
As reported by Euro2day.gr, the brokerage raised its target price for HelleniQ Energy to 12.6 euros from 9.4 euros and for Motor Oil to 53.2 euros from 39.1 euros, estimating that their valuations do not yet reflect the sector’s new, higher profitability baseline.
According to the report, the market continues to view the improvement in refining margins as temporary, whereas in reality it is a more permanent shift driven by reduced refining capacity in Europe, increased demand for diesel and jet fuel, and more complex trade supply routes.
Beyond the prospects for share price growth, the brokerage firm also highlights the generous dividends paid to shareholders. Its estimates project a dividend yield of approximately 6% for HelleniQ Energy in both 2026 and 2027, while Motor Oil is forecast to yield around 5% for both years.
As noted, the combination of high cash flows, strong operating profitability, and limited leverage allows both companies to maintain an attractive shareholder remuneration policy.