PM Mitsotakis visits King Charles III and speaks at the LSE's Hellenic Observatory

On Monday 28 November, Greece's Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, met with King Charles III in the Windsor Castle, accompanied by his wife Mareva Grabowski Mitsotaki.

The PM then went onto to the LSE to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hellenic Observatory. In conversation with LSE’s Kevin Featherstone, they discussed the challenges facing Greece and Europe.

Is Greece on the path to a sustained economic recovery? How substantive have the reforms been? With elections due next year, and with recent controversies, political stability seems at a premium. What vision does the PM have for Greece? And, how are the geopolitics of the region changing? Where does Greece stand on the new issues facing a changing Europe?

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was elected Prime Minister of Greece in 2019. Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies, Professor in European Politics and Director of the Hellenic Observatory.

Watch the live event by following the link here.

The first question asked by Professor Featherstone was one that his wife had requested he put to the Greek PM: "If the British were to give the Parthenon Marbles back to Greece, would you be willing to be PM of the UK?"

PM Mitsoakis smiled graciously and answered by saying that he was delighted to be at the LSE and to congratulate the Hellenic Observatory on its very successful 25th anniversary as these years had made a great contribution to the study of modern Greece. PM Mitosotakis also remembered his days at the LSE, 35 years ago when he was in London as an exchange student from Harvard University. He went on to add that the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures is close to his heart and that it is a cause that all Greeks would like their government to work towards achieving.

Professor Featherstone asked:"Is it doable?"

PM Mitsotakis replied instantly:"Potentially, yes!"

He went onto explain that he did not wish to speak publicly about the discussions Greece is having and went onto to say that he felt that there is a better sense of understanding, and that a solution can be found that would result in the reunification. He also mentions the support of British public opinion, ( that has been there for sometime and the result of the years dedicated to this cause by many not just in Greece and the UK but globally too). The PM also stressed the word reunification, and the will to see the surviving sculptures in situ next to the Acropolis, in the superlative Acropolis Museum.