When Thanasis Bakolas came to Brussels in June 2022 and became Secretary General of the Christian Democratic party family EPP, he was a largely unknown quantity on the EU scene. In Greece, he had made a career as an advisor to Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Nea Dimokratia. Bakolas (56) certainly has things in common with the current Prime Minister of Greece. Bakolas and Mitsotakis studied at elite universities in the USA. This experience has shaped both of them, in their appearance and in the way they speak English. When Mitsotakis took over the government in Athens, he made Bakolas his advisor, responsible for the EU and the USA.