Kalopia

[Aethan]

5734 Presidential elections: Moraitou gives press conference following first round elimination to announce endorsement

The Kalopian Herald — April 5734

HELIOS – After an unexpectedly close three-way race Theseus Moraitou, Second Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of Kalopian Spring, has failed to advance to the second round after his 22.6% was not enough to make it to the runn-off, placing in third place.

Following the announcement of the results, Mr. Moraitou appeared before the press congregated in the Kalopian Spring HQs, eager to know the opinion of the third-placed candidate – and whose endorsement, after winner Kallívas (32%) and second-placed and current President Kalaridis (25%) failed to win in the first round could be decisive.

With a serious expression and surrounded by his closest allies within the party, Mr. Moraitou acknowledged that "they had hoped to win or, at the very least, advance to the second round", but that they had run "the best campaign possible", having won in the Thalassa region and falling just 400,000 votes short of doing the same in Mossavi. He went on to say that tonight's election proved that more than 50% of Kalopia's population "rejects either of the two candidates", and called it a "sad day for Kalopia".

However, what everyone in the room was waiting to know was which option would the Kalopian Spring general secretary choose to endorse, and he decided to give a clear answer about that issue:

"Me, as candidate of Kalopian Spring, will NOT endorse any of the two options advancing to the run-off. Mr. Lakaridis has proved to be – while at times having good initiatives – not fit for the post, especially since his scandal. It would be extremely hypocritical of me to endorse such a candidate after I actively criticized him. People know I am a man of my word, and I must stand by it. That being said, Mr. Kallívas is no better option for our country. He has been open about what does he think about the position of the President – him and his whole party – he has a record of supporting heavy devolution legislation which we are firmly against and our party and his Centre Party have little in common. In fact, we have voted in similar ways only half of the time since they first entered parliament. Apart from that, he's an outspoken critic of the government I'm part of. How could I ever endorse such a figure? There is one thing my supporters appreciate of me above everything else: my honesty and my integrity. And endorsing any of the two final candidates for the Presidency would tear apart both things. It is safe – and sad – to say that, whoever gets elected next month, will not be a proud representative of the Kalopian people. But it is the Kalopian people who have chosen. And for that reason, whilst I will not endorse any of them, I do encourage my supporters and Kalopian Spring supporters to, on election day, go out and vote. Because for us, democracy is sacred. Go out and make your choice, be adults and behave like it. And if you do stay home, a perfect valid reason seeing the two candidates in front of us, you'll also have my support."

However, rumors are that Alexandros Metrotis, former KA presidential candidate and current minister of the government, is actively seeking to move the party towards an endorsement of the current President. Whether he'll be successful or not is yet to be seen.