To his supporters, Tzitzikostas is considered a party stalwart, and was elected governor on three successive occasions with impressive support. Fluent in English and French, he studied at Georgetown University in the U.S. and University College London. Crucially, he also has experience with European institutions, having served as president of the European Committee of the Regions.
But there is definitely a rightward tilt to why Mitsotakis chose him.
Tzitzikostas invited the now defunct, extreme-right Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in 2013 to a public holiday parade in Thessaloniki. When then-mayor Yannis Boutaris protested, he responded: “We all know that he prefers other kinds of parades, which he supports with particular zeal,” referring to gay pride parades.
In 2016, at the height of Europe’s migration crisis, Tzitzikostas abstained from the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Thessaloniki and the UNHCR to improve conditions for asylum seekers. He was accused by Boutaris of “betting on xenophobia.”
Tzitzikostas told POLITICO he considers himself a center-right and moderate politician, pointing out his electoral successes.
“I believe that my European experience, and in particular my experience in the presidency of an official European institution of the EU, contributed significantly to my selection,” he said, adding that in 2020 he was also unanimously elected by all political groups as president of the European Committee of the Regions.
