Half a Billion in New Democracy Debts: "Feast during the plague"

New Democracy (ΝΔ) ended 2024 with total commitments of over 541 million eurosof which almost 531 million euros account for bank loans and borrowings.

Against this background, footage from the party event, where participants are celebrating and rejoicing, caused a sharp reaction on social networks: many users called what was happening “feast during the plague”.

Key Findings

• New Democracy (ΝΔ) ended 2024 with total commitments of approx. €541.9 million.
• Of this amount approximately €530.9 million comprise bank loans and borrowings.
• The party’s income for 2024 amounted to approximately 18.4 million euroswhile operating expenses exceeded 71 million euros.
• Against the backdrop of debt and economic pressure on citizens, footage from the party celebration raised the question: who actually pays for the political “fiestas”?
• The problem of party debts raises the question of double standards: citizens and small businesses are severely punished for debts, while large parties have been living in a special regime for decades.

According to published New Democracy’s official balance sheet for 2024the party’s obligations at the end of the year amounted to 541,866,000 euros. As he writes in.grbank liabilities reached approximately €530.9 millionhaving increased over the year by more than 55 million euros.

In other words, the country’s ruling party exists with a debt burden, which for an ordinary enterprise would long ago have become a reason for tough actions by banks, creditors and tax authorities. But in Greek politics, as usual, there are two modes of reality: one for citizens and small businesses, the other for large parties who live with debt for years without losing access to power, banks and public funding.

Video from X: holiday amid debts

Η ΝΔ χρωστάει μισό δις.
Τα στελέχη της χρωστάνε δεκάδες εκατομμύρια σε δάνεια.

Ποιος πληρώνει αυτές τις φιέστες των υπερχρεωμένων εκατομμυριούχων δεξιών με ιδιωτικά δάνεια δεκάδων εκατομμυρίων;
Ο ελληνικός λαός; pic.twitter.com/RwIQYnalwi

— Πεν Νταλαούρα (@ntalaoura) May 18, 2026

The reason for a new wave of criticism was a video published on a social network Xwhere the party event participants New Democracy celebrate, dance and rejoice.

In the comments, users compared what was happening to “feast during the plague”. And this comparison does not seem accidental: the country lives in conditions of high prices, a housing crisis, fatigue of the middle class and chronic pressure on households, and the party in power with a debt of more than half a billion euros continues to demonstrate an atmosphere of lightness and carefreeness.

This is where the main question arises: what exactly is being celebrated? The economic success of the country, which for some reason millions of citizens do not see in their wallets? Ability to live on loans? The ability to hold expensive party events while carrying a gigantic debt load? Or is it just the usual feeling of political impunity, when some pay their bills, while others explain their debts with beautiful accounting formulas for years?

Half a billion debts and party fiestas

Against the backdrop of these figures, the question becomes especially acute: who pays for major party events, congresses, media campaigns, rental of halls, technical support, communication headquarters and all the political entourage, without which modern parties no longer seem to be able to even breathe?

Formally, parties are financed from several sources: state support, membership fees, donations, loans and their own revenues. But when we are talking about a party with debts of more than half a billion eurosthe obvious question arises: how sustainable is such a financial model at all and why are rules applied to it that would be inaccessible to most citizens and businesses?

If an ordinary citizen does not pay a loan, the bank does not arrange a conference for him with a buffet table, lighting design and applause. They call him, charge him interest, threaten him with penalties and explain that financial discipline is a sacred cow. When it comes to the party in power, for some reason the same cow calmly grazes on the lawn of political expediency.

Who ultimately pays

To say directly that each specific congress is paid for out of the citizen’s pocket would be legally rude. But the political-economic logic is much more unpleasant: if banks hold huge party debts for years, if parties receive government funding, if the system allows them to accumulate liabilities without consequences, then the ultimate risk still remains in the public zone.

Greek banks have been repeatedly supported by the state and European mechanisms in recent years, and taxpayers already know all too well what the formula means “stabilization of the banking system”. Therefore, the issue of party debts is not only internal accounting New Democracy. This is a question of political morality: why is a citizen obliged to live by the rules of financial responsibility, but the parties that write and impose these rules can demonstrate the opposite for decades?

This looks especially cynical against the backdrop of constant talk about discipline, budgetary responsibility, the fight against evasion, citizen checks, digital tax control and fines for the slightest violations. The state requires a receipt from the citizen for every euro, but the political system lives quietly with debts that have long gone beyond normal economic logic.

Revenues 18 million, expenses 71 million

According to in.grtotal income New Democracy for 2024 amounted to about 18.4 million euroswhile operating expenses reached 71.1 million euros. This means a huge gap between the party’s revenues and actual expenses.

For an ordinary company, such a picture would look like a warning sign of financial insolvency. For the party in power, for some reason, this turns into just another balance sheet, which is published, discussed for a couple of days, and postponed until next year, when the numbers get worse again.

And here the question is not only for the party itself, but also for the banks, the state and the entire control system. If a political structure has been increasing debt for years, but continues to spend, hold large-scale events and maintain the usual public rhythm, then the system itself considers this situation acceptable. But such generosity is usually not offered to a citizen with a late payment. Apparently, democracy is democracy, but the credit rating of the political class is still special, almost mythological.

The problem is not only for New Democracy

To be fair, the problem of party debts in Greece is not limited to one New democracy. According to Greek media, PASOK also remains a party with a huge debt load: its obligations for 2024 exceeded 507 million euros. Together, the two historical parties have accumulated debts approaching 1 billion euros.

But exactly New Democracy Today she is in power, which means she faces a special question. The party that governs the country, approves budgets, talks about reforming the economy and demands financial discipline from society cannot pretend that its own debts are a technical detail for accountants. This is a political fact.

When a ruling party with more debt 500 million euros holds vibrant conventions and political events, a citizen has a simple question: if I owed the bank even a small fraction of this amount, would I be treated as patiently? The answer, as usual, is too obvious to be printed in large print.

Financial asymmetry of power

Party debts are not just a matter of money. This is a question of equality before the rules. If the financial obligations of the major parties actually become chronic and politically serviced, then citizens see not a democracy of responsibility, but a special regime for the political class.

In such a system, the state can be harsh on a small businessman, a pensioner, a tax debtor, or a family with an overdue loan, but surprisingly soft on political structures that have been accumulating debt for years. It’s not just annoying. This destroys confidence in the very idea of ​​fair governance.

That’s why the question “Who pays for party fiestas?” is not populism. This is a question of how the country’s political economy works. If the parties’ expenses, their debts and their banking relationships remain virtually without real consequences, then society has the right to ask why the same people always pay for the mistakes of the political class – citizens, to whom no one forgives either a tax, a loan, or a late payment.

Editorial comment

Footage from the party celebration New Democracy against the backdrop of her debts of more than 541 million euros look like a symbol of Greek political asymmetry. Some people are told that they must endure high prices, pay taxes, meet deadlines and live within their means. Others continue their political celebrations even when their own balance sheet resembles not a financial statement but a backlit debt pit.

If an ordinary citizen or small business had accumulated such a proportion of debts, the system would have long ago called it insolvent. But when it comes to the party in power, another language comes into play: restructuring, political stability, historical obligations, banking relations. Translated into human terms, this means a simple thing: the rules in Greece are too often strict for the weak and surprisingly flexible for the strong.

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