He calls on the members and officials of the Democratic Alarm to engage in self-criticism regarding the events of the past few days on Pindarou Street, against the “backdrop” of the 2028 presidential election, Konstantinos Georgiou, Deputy President of NEDISY and a potential candidate for the presidency of NEDISY in the elections on November 21, 2026.
In a statement posted on the NIMA platform, Mr. Georgiou warns of a new period of introversion that the party appears to be entering and emphasizes the need for unity. He sends a message to all members of the party—and especially to the younger generation—calling for a change of course, noting that the greatest challenge is not winning internal party battles, but rather restoring public trust and ensuring that young people have a real future.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Mr. Georgios’s statement follows verbatim:
“We’re shrinking.
And I’m not talking about election results. I’m talking about our connection with society. About people who once stood by us and are now gone. About young people who see no reason to get involved with us.
The worst part is that we know it. We admit it in our private conversations, but in public we almost always talk about our successes. We organize events, take photos, listen to speeches, and at the end we clap.
Except that, if we look a little closer, it’s almost always the same people. The same people who speak, the same people who listen, the same people who agree. And because we hear the applause, we think society is listening to us too.
This is an illusion that must end.
I’m not writing this as someone who stands outside the Democratic Alarm. I’m part of its Youth Wing, and I, too, share the responsibility. That’s exactly why I believe we owe it to ourselves to speak honestly.
We often blame our elders for the ills of politics. But let’s take a look at ourselves, too. We learned early on who supports whom, when it’s in our interest to speak up, and when it’s better to stay silent. And so, instead of changing the things that bothered us, we began to resemble them.
We grew old politically before we even had a chance to become young.
And then we wonder why young people don’t listen to us. My answer is simple: often, they’re right not to. Why should they listen to us when we ask them to participate in something we decided without them?
I remember when I was in charge of the student division of the Youth Organization. There was a regular activity in which participation was declining every year. We could easily have concluded that the students were no longer interested. Instead, I asked them.
As it turned out, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to participate. It was that what we were offering didn’t resonate with them. We changed our approach, organized something different, and the spots filled up within a few days.
It wasn’t some great achievement. But it was a useful lesson: before we ask young people to follow us, we must learn to listen to them. And if this is true for a student initiative, how much more so is it true for their jobs, housing, and prospects in our country?
I also often hear the phrase “elections are healthy.” I fully agree with the need for the democratic process. I do not agree, however, with the ease with which we ignore what it may leave in its wake.
We’ve seen in the past how internal party rivalries create factions. One side wins, the other loses, and along with the loser, people who had devoted their time, effort, and heart drift away. Some become disillusioned. Others feel they no longer have a place. And we carry on as if nothing had happened.
What’s the point of winning an internal party battle if, the very next day, the Youth Wing is smaller?
I want to speak especially to the people who were once here and are missing today. I won’t tell them they were wrong to leave. They may have had their reasons. I want us to listen to those reasons and show them in practice that they can have a place here again, without conditions and without having to belong to any particular camp.
No one is expendable. Not even those who disagree. Not even those who once supported another candidate. Not even those who criticized us. Unity isn’t just a photo op the day after the election. It means that even the person who disagreed with you feels that they still belong here.
In my day-to-day professional life as a business manager, I’ve learned that when something isn’t working, it’s not enough to just put on a good show. You have to acknowledge the problem, listen to people, and fix what went wrong. I don’t understand why, in politics, we have such a hard time doing the same thing.
I’m not claiming to have all the answers. But I believe that the Youth Wing must reopen its doors: to those who have drifted away, to those who disagree, but above all to those who have never gotten to know us. Let’s focus less on the applause and more on whether we’ve managed to truly bring a young person closer to public life.
The history of the Democratic Alarm deserves respect. But history alone does not guarantee the future. We must earn the future anew—not by asking young people to trust us on our word alone, but by giving them reasons to do so.
Because the greatest defeat for a political youth movement is not losing an election. It is to win all its internal party battles and, in the end, have no one left outside the room who wants to listen to it.”
