MITSOTAKIS: Artificial intelligence has found its place in the day-to-day running of the Maximos Mansion, with AI agents taking on the role of digital aides.
As Kyriakos Mitsotakis explained at the inauguration of the “Daedalus” supercomputer, he uses AI tools himself, but his office uses them even more.
They have even created AI agents that distil information, reducing the time needed to search for and compile material.
The prime minister highlighted the “incredible” capabilities of Anthropic’s Claude model, as well as those of ChatGPT and other tools, noting that they can easily offer him a second opinion.
He made clear, however, that AI plays a supporting role, with the final decision remaining in human hands.
Especially when it comes to making policy.
NEW DEMOCRACY: There is intense pre-election activity within New Democracy. On the one hand, the government and party vice-president is collecting proposals from ministers and MPs as part of efforts to coordinate the drafting of the party’s government programme, following consultation with the prime minister.
He has sent two separate letters to members of the government and the parliamentary group to this end, giving them about one month to respond.
On the other hand, six more candidates have been announced for the party’s election lists. All are women: lawyer Vicky Kavallari (Eastern Attica A), Elena Sokou, coordinator of the prime minister’s office in northern Greece (Evros), civil servant Argyro Tragaki, daughter of MP Giannis Tragakis (Piraeus B), tax adviser and deputy mayor of Kordelio-Evosmos Menia Kalou (Thessaloniki A), civil engineer and regional councillor for Pieria Anna Tzika, and lawyer Elena Florou (Athens South).
As the column hears it, with Antonis Samaras lying in wait to attract dissatisfied New Democracy supporters to his party’s lists, Piraeus Street is unlikely to announce a large batch of names just yet, as originally planned. Instead, announcements will be made gradually.
Better safe than sorry!
KARAMANLIS: As for the other former prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis, and amid rumours that he is meeting political friends — including potential candidates for the Messinian politician’s party — the government spokesman had only praise for the Serres-born politician:
“I don’t know what meetings Mr Karamanlis is holding, and he doesn’t need our permission. He is a politician with a long career, a former leader of the party and prime minister of the country. Nor can I get drawn into commenting on rumours. One thing is certain: in all the roles he has held over the years, Mr Karamanlis has always looked to the good of the party and the country. No one can dispute that,” he said.
The difference in the Maximos Mansion’s treatment of the two former prime ministers is clear.
SAMARAS: After yesterday’s video, it is now obvious that the Messinian politician has already begun a full-fledged election campaign... before announcing a party!
Unlike his previous appearances and videos, which focused mainly on barbs and jibes at the government, this time he offered not just criticism but a programme, too.
Antonis Samaras left national issues out of the picture to take on Kyriakos Mitsotakis over matters that concern most people every day.
The cost of living, fuel, indirect taxes and the survival of small and medium-sized businesses. His proposals ranged from cutting taxes on fuel and electricity to reducing VAT in the food service sector.
This was no chance choice. The former prime minister is trying to broaden his appeal beyond traditional right-wing voters focused on national issues, while also setting out a distinct policy platform.
Against the Mitsotakis government, which he describes as “managerial and neoliberal” and says fails to tackle inflation because this allows it to run huge surpluses and artificially reduce debt (a sound point in principle), he puts forward “social liberalism” and active state intervention.
The reference is also symbolic, recalling Konstantinos Karamanlis’s “radical liberalism”, with the state intervening in the interests of social justice.
And so the confrontation has become less intensely personal, taking on policy dimensions.
SAMARAS II: There is, however, a second dimension, just as important as the first. His invocation of his time as prime minister, culminating in “I did it in far worse conditions, and it can be done again”, could be read as a bid for the premiership.
A new party, however, would struggle to make a realistic bid for government. The word “again”, therefore, seems aimed mainly at New Democracy: an alternative policy proposal directed at the party’s own ranks.
And here lies a subtle but important distinction. Samaras’s desire for Mitsotakis to leave the premiership and the party leadership is common knowledge. The question is what he wants to happen next and what role he hopes to play himself.
Seen in this light, a potential Samaras party would in practice be a lever of pressure on post-election developments within New Democracy, with two audiences in mind.
The first is voters who might follow him, weakening New Democracy at the ballot box. The second is just as important: voters and party figures who remain in New Democracy and might agree that a change of leadership and political direction is needed.
With them, after all, he could discuss what comes next if the election results trigger a realignment. Whether he will succeed is another matter.
PS: Is it a coincidence that on exactly the same day, Thessaloniki MP Theodoros Karoglou said that if New Democracy failed to win an outright majority, it should try to form a government with parties to its right, naming Samaras among others?
KAROGLOU: The statement above caused irritation in the prime minister’s team. “We should also reach out to the democratic parties to our right. Obviously, I’m not referring to a party that might be formed by Kasidiaris. I mean whether it is Mr Velopoulos, Voice of Reason, Niki, Ms Karystianou, and of course Mr Samaras...
If PASOK is still unwilling in a second election, what do we do? Do we go to a third election? If that election produces no result either, what then? We shouldn’t be dogmatic,” he argued, speaking to Naftemporiki, in a position completely at odds with the official government line.
This gave PASOK an opportunity to respond, accusing New Democracy of having a “hidden agenda for a coalition government with the far right”. The Maximos Mansion intervened through government sources to rule out once again, categorically, “any possibility of a coalition government with parties from either the far right or the other side of populism”.
The lines got crossed.
MY HOME: The government appears set to accept the banks’ request, ahead of the launch of “My Home III”, to expand the range of properties eligible for the programme.
As Euro2day.gr revealed, the banks asked for properties with building permits issued after 2007 to be included as well.
The banks’ request is aimed at increasing the number of available properties, as the two previous programmes “exhausted” the market and drove up prices for eligible homes by shrinking the pool of available properties.
The programme, with a total budget of €2bn, is expected to launch in early 2027, with the age limit for beneficiaries rising to 55.
ALPHA BANK: The bank took part in two flagship investments in the energy and technology sectors, both recently inaugurated in the presence of the prime minister.
One is the country’s largest standalone electricity storage facility, inaugurated by Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week. The bank acted as exclusive arranger and sole bank lender for the €170m project, developed in Thessaly by Metlen and the Karatzis group.
In the second case, involving the new national supercomputer “Daedalus”, Alpha Bank supported Greek company MainSys, which, in partnership with HP, undertook the construction and upgrading of the facilities housing the “Daedalus” supercomputer in Lavrio.
For the project, with a total budget of €59m, MainSys undertook work worth about €14m. Alpha Bank was the only bank to finance the company, providing working capital and, after the work was completed, a letter of guarantee for the facility’s proper operation.
METLEN: The current share price, close to €49, reflects only part of the value of the company’s new activities, according to Solidus Securities.
Based on its estimates for the core businesses, the share price reflects around €2 per share from gallium, energy storage and defence. That represents 55% of the €3.7 value the broker estimates in its base case. In its optimistic scenario, the value rises to €9.8.
Also not reflected in the price are the expansion into circular metals, the partnership with Thales and the additional gallium contracts expected by management. Solidus assigns no value to these in its base case. If the market valued the group at a single multiple of 8.5x, its value would reach €55.7.
In its positive scenario, the broker sets a significantly higher target price of €74, implying upside of more than 50%.
For 2026, Solidus forecasts net profit of €560m–€620m and earnings per share of about €4.1. That implies a P/E ratio of around 12x. For 2027, it forecasts EBITDA of €1.35bn, against the company’s medium-term target of €1.92bn–€2.08bn.
Solidus says Metlen is executing its plan well and broadening its investment story in a credible way. Gallium already has buyers on two continents, BESS has a strong partner in PPC and defence is gaining a production base. Meanwhile, leverage has fallen to 1.7x from 3.1x.
METLEN II: METKA SA has decided to distribute €83m to its sole shareholder, Metlen Energy & Metals.
According to an announcement filed with GEMI on 19 October, the decision was taken at an extraordinary general meeting of the company on 7 October 2026. The money comes from accumulated undistributed profits from previous financial years, including 2025.
The decision coincides with the reorganisation of the group’s infrastructure activities. Metlen has announced the creation of METKA Group, a wholly owned subsidiary that will include METKA SA, M Concessions and Unison — its construction, concessions/PPPs and facilities management businesses.
The group is considering listing it on Euronext Athens.
STARLINK: Work has begun to install two new Starlink base stations (Starlink Gateway Stations) in Thessaloniki and Preveza. The project is being carried out in partnership with Lancom and involves a seven-figure investment by SpaceX.
Sources familiar with developments say the environmental studies have been completed and the stations are expected to become operational in 2027.
CMF: Shares in Evangelos Marinakis’s shipping company make their debut today, with the company’s management ringing the bell to open the session.
The public offering by Capital Maritime Finance (CMF) was particularly successful, with a total of 40 million new ordinary shares offered at a final price of €7.50 per share.
Total valid demand reached 144.74 million shares, worth €1.086bn, oversubscribing the offering by 4.34 times. The initial target was to raise about €250m, but the company increased the amount to €300m in response to strong investor demand.
Now it is over to the trading floor…
MOTOR OIL: The shares of the Vardinogiannis group were among the six FTSE 25 stocks to close higher yesterday.
The stock settled at €70 (+1.52%) despite intraday pressure that took it as low as €66.95 (-2.9%). Turnover approached €10.9m.
Insider selling in the stock is continuing, however. It emerged yesterday that board chairman Giannis Vardinogiannis sold 10,000 shares last Wednesday, raising €697,600. The following day, Niki Stoufi, a non-executive board member, sold 3,500 shares for €242,200.
It is worth noting that last April, Giannis V. Vardinogiannis transferred 250,000 Motor Oil shares to Canelo Holdings, a company associated with him, for €9.15m (€36.5 per share). Of those, 100,000 shares have already been sold between 25 September and 14 October (the latest disclosure), at an average price close to €68 per share.
ELVALHALCOR: The share is flirting with a new low for the year (€3.34, recorded on 27 March) after falling 2.44% yesterday to €3.40.
The stock’s high for the year is €5.72, reached on 22 June. It has since come under a wave of selling, which took it to €3.82 a month later and to €3.40 yesterday. After yesterday’s fall, it is down more than 40% from its peak.
At the end of last month, however, NBG Securitiesraised its target for the stock to €5.1 and assigned it an outperform rating.