[6] During the 2010s he was one of the prominent figures of progressive views and politics in Greece as well as a founding member of the ecological organization Arcturos.

[8] Boutaris also declared his wish to build an Islamic mosque, monuments to Thessaloniki's Jews and to the Young Turk Revolution.

According to Boutaris, the construction of these monuments will attract Jewish and Turkish tourists to Thessaloniki, who will want to visit their fathers' hometown.

[8] The hardliners claimed that Boutaris made a controversial remark on the issue ("I don't give a shit" if Kemal Atatürk killed Greeks or not").

He actively supported the creation of the Holocaust Museum of Greece and invited Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev for a New Year reception in 2017, which contributed to the resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute.

[6] Boutaris spoke several times openly about his struggle with alcoholism and his successful effort to quit drinking back in 1991.