The political clash between Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Antonis Samaras has now reached a breaking point, with what was once a quiet intra-party cold war erupting into an open and deeply personal confrontation. The latest — and arguably most explosive — exchange of fire came from Thessaloniki and the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), where the Prime Minister, during his press conference, made clear he has no intention of leaving any door open for future reconciliation with the former Prime Minister.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent an unambiguous message that he sees no room for political rapprochement with Antonis Samaras. His pointed reference to Samaras’ “legacy” was anything but accidental. Even sharper, however, was his remark that Antonis Samaras possesses “expertise in how to damage the party.”
Anyone who expected the former Prime Minister to respond in measured tones was sorely mistaken.
Antonis Samaras to Kyriakos Mitsotakis: “He should worry about his own legacy”
Antonis Samaras launched a fierce counterattack — via a formal statement and a video — responding to the Prime Minister in equally sharp terms and effectively throwing the “legacy” jab right back at him.
“It is not the Mitsotakis family that decides who has the expertise to harm the party — it is the people of the party,” he said pointedly, before delivering a direct message to the Prime Minister: “He should worry about his own legacy.”
His assertion that today’s New Democracy “is not this party” but rather “Mitsotakis’ party” raises the stakes of the confrontation even further.
Mitsotakis was quick to fire back after journalists at the press conference informed him of Samaras’ statement. The Prime Minister’s response came dripping with sarcasm: “The party is the one that got 18%?” — a pointed reference to New Democracy’s result in the May 2012 elections, when Samaras led the party to its historically low score before eventually forming a government.
