By Penelope Galliou

Three weeks after the result of the European elections, which fell short of expectations for the ruling ND, but also sent out multiple messages to the entire political system, Antonis Samaras and Kostas Karamanlis came forward and “shaken up” the political scene, sending out their own messages. as they understood, interpreted and communicated them together, during the presentation of Manolis Kottaki’s book, yesterday, at the War Museum.

Their joint presence alone gave an even more emblematic character to the positions of the two former ND prime ministers, who may have used different tones and different phrasing, but they undoubtedly had a common ideological root and a common goal: reflection, vigilance and change policy, after the messages clearly sent by the citizens during the recent European elections, and as it was seen from their positions, the two former prime ministers do not consider themselves to have been received by the government. However, the Maximos Palace consciously chose not to open a front with its two former “occupants”, laconically leaking through government sources that “We do not comment on statements and speeches of former prime ministers”.

Criticism of all the material – What A. Samaras questioned

The joint presence of Samaras and Karamanlis acquired an even more intense semiotic content, given that it happened just a few twenty-four hours after the first meeting of the ND Parliamentary Group and the public criticism of several blue-collar MPs for the government’s central choices. Climate and criticism that was also reflected during the speeches – interventions of the two former prime ministers criticizing key government choices from national issues, to the economy and accuracy but also on social issues, such as the marriage of same-sex couples, both speaking for arrogance. “If he listened to the vote of the Greek people. I don’t know who he is listening to but let him understand that he is wrong to persist in the wrong!” stressed Antonis Samaras, referring to the prime minister and same-sex marriage. The former prime minister, however, spoke directly about arrogance, reminding those who were or were not present at the event, that “The judge of all of us is the Greek people. And he judged. The issue is that no one from the government was paying attention! For all subjects. Not even what Costas Karamanlis said mainly about our national issues. Me neither. (…) Since the government treats even its former prime minister and president like this, why shouldn’t the world consider you arrogant gentlemen?” said Mr. Samaras.

But the former prime minister also spoke about ideological divergence and mutation. “Parties are based on ideas, principles and values. The center-right faction, for example, believes in Liberalism. The ideas of the parties are by nature entrenched.(…)

New Democracy has always had open doors, but not ideologically unguarded doors. Expansion is one thing and mutation is another,” he said and added, “How and why was the “smallest and most fearful” New Democracy of all time created in these elections? Does the historically lower number of votes indicate that the tree is, indeed, neither growing tall nor spreading, precisely because it was cut off from its roots?”

Antonis Samaras also questioned the effectiveness of the current ND governance model, which he described as crowded and with a large extra-parliamentary presence, wondering if it was successful why it was rejected in the elections. “If so (it was successful), then why was this political version of us rejected by society? And indeed without a political opponent, without Troika and surveillance, and in conditions of unprecedented communicative omnipotence.

The Greek people trusted the center-right to govern them, and not the political “doctors without borders”. And Greece requires initiatives of political restructuring and not political weakening. (…)The return to politics is therefore a one-way street. It is in the Prime Minister’s hands, it is his responsibility. As is my responsibility to point it out. Everyone must assume their responsibilities,” he observed.

The former prime minister’s criticism spread across the entire spectrum of government policy with extensive and emphatic reference to national issues for which, as he said, “The image of our country is heartbreaking. We eat one insult, one humiliation, after another! From the people of Skopje, the Albanians and, of course, our “friends” the Turks. What is happening is unimaginable.” He even called on Kyriakos Mitsotakis “to decide, immediately, to change the foreign policy followed. To return to the historical deposits of the Faction. To veto Albania. To prepare, through the creation of a strong legal and political group of experts, the disengagement from the nationally dangerous Prespa Agreement. To exercise, like Bulgaria, a veto on every step of Skopje, whose irresponsibility we must denounce here and now, everywhere. To completely review the “Friendship” with Turkey, making it clear in practice that we are not blackmailed, threatened and not afraid. There are limits!”

Mr. Samaras also severely criticized the government’s economic policy, calling for more controls and substantive measures, arguing that the government did not correctly decode the voters’ messages on these issues as well. “However, the control of the cartels is necessary to deal with the exactness that plagues the citizens. Accuracy everywhere, in housing, in food, in energy, in education, in the household as a whole. Liberal interventions are not done with “crate battles”, “baskets”, “coupons”, begging and horizontal taxation. They are only made with hard work, meaningful dialogue about the causes with the market experts par excellence. And with measures of substance. Like the VAT reduction, which I recall was done during the 2012-2014 government, against the demands of the Troika. And he succeeded. The message of the citizens in the recent European elections was not to continue the current policy by running even faster! It was the exact opposite, to change immediately.” he emphasized.

Direct shots from K. Karamanlis

Former Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis also launched direct shots at the Government for its morbid, dangerous complacency and arrogance, taking a clear distance from government choices and interpretations with which, as he estimated, the majority of citizens disagreed. As proof of what he said, he proceeded to his own decoding of the electoral result of the recent European elections which he said was attempted to be downplayed, as well as the message they sent to the respective authorities and the political world. “They do not hesitate with public reports to pass with great ease contemptuous and disparaging characterizations of the protesting citizens. Suddenly Europe was filled with populists, extreme rightists, philo-fascists and religious fanatics. From retards who cannot grasp the modern trends and priorities of multiculturalism, unrestrained entitlement, the omnipresence of the markets and an opaque banking system, the gradual extinction of the nation-state.

But all these are examples of a sick and dangerous mentality. Self-satisfaction and arrogance, hard-to-disguise elitism do not only reveal shallowness and superficiality. In essence, they show arrogance for the other point of view, dogmatic anchorings, contempt for the many, their anxieties, problems, expectations. This way, however, the problem is not simply not being dealt with, on the contrary it is getting worse and even rapidly with the risk that at some point, not in the distant distant future, it will take on explosive dimensions. (…) If you don’t understand why the many resent and complain, if you insist, against all indications, that you are right and the many are wrong, if you believe that you always know better than them and the only assumption you make is that you will you just had to communicate it better, they are almost certainly right and you are wrong. If you don’t understand this either, things are infinitely worse!” remarked the former prime minister.

However, Kostas Karamanlis also set his own red lines on national issues, speaking of Turkey’s direct threats to Greece and Cyprus. “The hegemonic aspirations of Turkey, the systematic operation on behalf of the expansion of the agenda, the direct questioning of the territorial integrity and sovereign rights of our country are given and undisclosed. Only the willfully blind can dispute that. Any momentary lull in rhetoric and practical challenges, dictated by temporary expediencies, should not obscure the truth.” remarked the former prime minister sounding the alarm.

He estimated that no Greek Government would be willing to back down on major national issues and accept regulations at the expense of national interests and explained:
“First, because I rule out the possibility that he wants it. But in addition, it could not, because it would be faced with the same-minded and strong reaction of Greek women and men. It is therefore impossible and unthinkable to enter into a co-promise that will artificially and cunningly hide, under the guise of appealing to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for the delimitation of the EEZ and the continental shelf, the assignment with vague and diplomatically ingenious formulations, of the right to the ICJ to rule about the extent of territorial waters or even the territorial sovereignty of islands and islets. I am categorical about this”.

Mr. Karamanlis harshly criticized the handling of the EU in Ukraine and the Middle East, but also the attitude of the EU as a whole towards its peoples, especially after the recent results of the European elections, considering that both the Euro-elections and the results of the elections in France have come to confirm that the Europe we believed in is slipping into a deep crisis. “Its signs, visible for a long time, became obvious and self-evident,” said the former prime minister, mentioning, among other things, the shrinking of the welfare state, uncontrolled immigration dynamizing social peace and normality, the uncritical adoption of choices that touch identity issues.

Presentations from across the political spectrum

The event was attended as a representative of the Prime Minister by the Government Spokesperson and Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Pavlos Marinakis, while many MPs and executives of the National Democratic Party, as well as political executives from almost the entire political spectrum – from Mr. S. Kedikoglou of SYRIZA to executives of Hellenic Solution, of Niki, Aphrodite Latinopoulou, but also the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis, who represents the Maximos Mansion. Among others, Evripides Stylianidis, Dimitris Stamatis, the regional governor of North Aegean Kostas Moutzouris, Andreas Koutsoubas, former parliamentarian of the ND and best man of Kostas Karamanlis, Akis Gerontopoulos, Vassilis Michaloliakos, Lefteris Oikonomou, Lefteris Zagoritis, Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos are present , o Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, but also veteran actor Kostas Prekas. There was also Spilios Spiliotopoulos, or Eliza Vosenberg, Christos Boukoros, George Patoulis, Marios Salmas, Stavros Kalafatis, Yiannis Plakiotakis, Stelios Petsas, Miltos Chrysomallis, Costas Katsafados, Yiannis Oikonomou, Andreas Katsaniotis, Vassilis Ypsilantis, Dimitris Vartzopoulos. Also, the Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis, Thanos Plevris, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Stratos Simopoulos, Vangelis Meimarakis, Dora Bakoyannis. Haris Konidaris, press representative of Archbishop Hieronymos, also attended the event.