Traditions or something else? At the farewell ceremony for the Greek ex-prime minister, not a single living former prime minister of Greece was present. And this was especially striking against the backdrop of Jimmy Carter's funeral in the United States.
In countries like the United States, funerals of former leaders are moments of bipartisan unity and respect. On the day of farewell to Jimmy Carter, all living ex-presidents put aside political differences to express their deep respect for the office and the man who once held it.
The discrepancy between these two mournful state-level events raises questions about the dynamics of political heritage, respect and unity in the Greek political landscape.
The current Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was present at the funeral Simitis and delivered a eulogy in which he praised the former leader, despite party politics. Simitis was one of the founders of the socialist party PASOK, the largest rival party to Mitsotakis' New Democracy.
He paid tribute to the “democracy fighter and noble political opponent” who, he said, refused to compromise his principles and accept populist slogans. The Prime Minister highlighted three key aspects of Simitis' legacy: his belief in European integration, his methodical management style and his ability to combine complex political responsibilities with his passion for reading, art and theatre. writes GreekReporter.
Representatives from most political parties attended the funeral, but the former prime minister did not attend. Living prime ministers of Greece were absent from Simitis's funeral:
Konstantinos Karamanlis (born September 14, 1956), who was Prime Minister of Greece from 2004 to 2009. He is the nephew of the elder Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was a key figure in Greek politics and served as Prime Minister and President of Greece in previous decades. The younger Karamanlis remains an influential figure in the New Democracy party.
Georgios Papandreou (born June 16, 1952), who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011 in the early stages of the Greek debt crisis. Papandreou is a member of the famous Papandreou political family and was the leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). His tenure was marked by significant economic problems. He is known for initiating austerity measures and seeking international financial injections to stabilize the Greek economy. Papandreou issued a statement in which he said that he was in China during Simitis's funeral.
Lucas Papadimos (born October 11, 1947) served as Prime Minister of Greece from November 2011 to May 2012 during the critical period of the Greek financial crisis. Papadimos, an economist and former vice president of the European Central Bank, was appointed as a technocratic leader to help tackle Greece's economic problems and implement key financial reforms.
Antonis Samaras (born May 23, 1951) served as Prime Minister from 2012 to 2015. He took office during one of Greece's most difficult periods, leading the country through the eurozone debt crisis. Samaras introduced strict austerity measures and sought international financial injections to stabilize the Greek economy, actions that were both praised for preventing Greece from leaving the eurozone and criticized for their social and economic consequences.
Alexis Tsipras (born July 28, 1974) served from 2015 to 2019leading the left-wing Syriza party. He came to power promising to end austerity measures imposed by Greece's creditors. However, after the controversial 2015 referendum and intensive negotiations with EU Tsipras agreed to a third bailout, implementing reforms that were widely seen as a reversal of his original promises. Tsipras said his absence from Simitis' funeral was due to health reasons, as he had contracted the COVID-19 virus.
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