Former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis sharply criticized his party member Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his government during a speech at the memorial ceremony for Marietta Yiannakou on Monday, November 6, 2023.
The former prime minister spoke about “respect for institutions and laws” at a time when the presidents of the independent authorities are under constant war and threats from senior government officials, as already denounced by the head of the independent authority, Christos Ramos. “I walk the difficult path of sobriety and respect for institutions and laws”he said, referring to the ethical and democratic way of governing that should be followed by the Prime Minister.
The “jabs” continued, and he separated his position from “passion for power” and “arrogance”, “the pursuit of media favor”using the political life of Marietta Yannakou as an example.
“She had no passion for power, for projection, for arrogance. She had no sponsors or patrons, she did not seek the favor of the powerful or the media,” – he said about the late Marietta, adding that she “knew that real politics is about ideas, empathy and humanity, and not lust and the desire for power. She knew that virtuous people look at power as an honorable but difficult duty, and not as a coveted prize.”
The former Prime Minister himself cited as an example the answer that Marietta Yannakou gave him to a history book (the infamous book “History” by former Democratic Left MP Maria Repoussi):
“Costas, obviously I do not agree with what is written and I think it should be changed. But in a successful democracy, such things do not happen because a minister or even a prime minister disagrees with the wording and arbitrarily imposes his will. Changes must be made in a coordinated manner, through appropriate institutions and institutional procedures. Respect for institutional order is the highest duty of any government in a democracy.”
It is worth noting that the former minister of the Karamanlis government N. Kaklamanis also made “shots” towards Mitsotakis for his choice to go to an event for Kostas Simitis on Monday night, pointedly stating: “I hold him responsible for the graying of the Aegean Sea with the Helsinki and especially the Madrid treaties.”
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