Maria Karustianou is navigating difficult and murky paths after her decision to enter politics and the publication of her views have placed her at the center of harsh criticism from segments of society and all parties across the democratic spectrum.
Read: Tempi: Under AADE scrutiny – concerts, donations and suspicious transactions being investigated
Maria Karustianou’s open fronts
Meanwhile, the Association of Tempi 2023 Victims’ Relatives is preparing to elect a new president in early February, as they face three ongoing trials and the major case for the tragedy, which will begin in March. Sources indicate that Maria Karustianou decided to resign when she received the invitation from the Relatives’ Association calling for the Association’s General Assembly. She apparently realized then that the pretense was over.
Regarding the Association’s financial matters – let’s recall that SDOE is also conducting an audit – the same sources note that there are no irregularities on the former president’s part. However, the financial records haven’t been closed, as the former president hasn’t submitted receipts for expenses she made without the Association’s Board approval. Whatever the case may be, since SDOE has undertaken the relevant investigation, she will provide her explanations where necessary, when requested.
“Citizens’ Movement” or “Genesis”? Scenarios for Maria Karustianou’s new party
Discussion continues around the new party’s name. “Citizens’ Movement” is considered most likely. After all, Maria Karustianou’s supporters appear to be conversing among themselves under this designation and organizing for the next phase.
Other sources report that the former president of the Tempi Victims’ Relatives Association has decided to announce the creation of the “Genesis” party on March 25th. This would send a dual message to society, both religious and patriotic. It would refer to the birth of the Greek nation from the March 25th revolution, but also to the Annunciation announcing Jesus’s coming.
At the same time, Maria Karustianou, who last week appeared to experience her first political defeat due to her abortion comments, seems to be wavering regarding her collaborators. Characteristically, while Michalis Patsikas – who previously played a key role in organizing rallies against the Prespa Agreement as head of the “Epos” movement – is among her close associates, the former Tempi Association president appears to distance herself from him, saying he belongs to the broader organizational team.
Simultaneously, she pretends not to know former Federation for Lifting Burdens president Nikos Skiadas, who is her close associate and has undertaken contact with potential candidates.
Names supporting her and the plan for tomorrow
The only person she seems to maintain consistently good and close relations with is her lawyer, Maria Gratsia, who was a candidate with “Niki” in the 2023 elections, receiving the most votes in Athens A after party president Dimitris Natsios. Maria Gratsia’s role is multifaceted, as she appears to determine the party line and maintain relations with part of the Church, particularly Mount Athos. This is because she reportedly was one of the figures who played a leading role in “Niki’s” relations with Mount Athos monasteries that supported Dimitris Natsios. Today, having jumped from Maria Gratsia to Maria Karustianou, she wants to keep this relationship alive, obviously understanding it will serve her purposes.
Recently, however, another figure appeared to advise Maria Karustianou, particularly on economic matters. Economics Professor Maria Negreponti-Delivani, who claims she will serve as economic advisor to the new party, supported returning to the drachma. In January 2015, at an economics conference titled “Debt write-off and transition to national currency,” she said: “The only solution remaining available to us is returning to the national currency. Within the eurozone there is no solution, at least no solution that can effectively serve Greece.” Commenting on Maria Karustianou’s abortion statement, she noted: “She didn’t say such a thing. She said – and I believe this too – that conditions must be created to mitigate the reasons why abortions are needed. A calculation has been made for 2135, when the last Greek man or woman will be born in this country. Every year 40,000 abortions occur. This is terrible.”
Another figure reportedly close to her in his own way is Cyprus MEP Fidias Panagiotou, who allegedly mediated for the interview on Cyprus’s “Down Town.” He recently declared he’s preparing a “direct democracy” political party and would like to collaborate somehow with the movement Maria Karustianou announced she would establish. “I’m watching what Ms. Karustianou does and perhaps we’ll propose in the future to see if we can become sister parties or find some way the direct democracy mechanism works and make future collaboration. I’d like to work with her, I’m open, I’m sure we won’t agree on everything,” he emphasized.
Former Supreme Court Vice President Georgios Apostolakis, who leads the “Exodus” movement and was also a “Niki” candidate who created a sensation by appearing ready to lead Golden Dawn despite his claims, appears close to Maria Karustianou. On his personal blog “Next Day,” he wrote on January 7th: “The Tempi crime case, two years after the tragedy, transformed in 2025 from an open wound into a political and moral landmark. Mass mobilizations, victims’ families’ persistence, and Maria Karustianou’s public presence revealed something the political system had underestimated: that society hasn’t accepted oblivion as a solution. The demand isn’t partisan. It isn’t ideological. It’s elementary: justice, truth, accountability, catharsis. And precisely for this reason it disturbed. Because it revealed the gap between social ethics and political practice.” Georgios Apostolakis is brother of former Larissa Appeals Prosecutor Sofia Apostolaki, who made headlines due to her son Vasilis’s disappearance.
Published in Parapolitika
