Members of Alexis Tsipras’s party headquarters on Amalias Avenue are making clear they have no intention of being drawn into the debate over terrorism and Tsipras’s alleged responsibilities — a debate the government ignited following the death of Vagia Nestora. Party officials argue that the government, acting out of desperation, is attempting to weaponize an extremely serious issue for political gain. As members of the Greek Left Alliance (ELAS) point out, Alexis Tsipras condemned the terrorist attack — which resulted in the death of one woman and the injury of two other New Democracy (ND) officials — from the very first moment, through a personal public statement.
They also stress that the remarks made by the ND party secretary regarding the name of Tsipras’s party, ELAS, were made purely to provoke public sentiment. Officials at Amalias Avenue find it inconceivable that he could be unaware that the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) had no connection to the Greek Civil War.
“Political tension is stoked by whoever divides the Greek people over a name tied to the civil war. It is stoked by the one who revives the ideas of the Left — ideas that, during five years in government, favored terrorists and freed criminals,” said the ND party secretary, clearly intent on pushing political confrontation to the extreme.
Amalias Avenue officials say that New Democracy is evidently desperate to exploit such a serious matter in this way. They also warn that the government is not hesitating to plunge the country into a new cycle of toxicity, solely in order to rally its voter base — voters who appear deeply disillusioned and are ready to abandon the party.
They further believe that former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is playing a significant role behind the scenes, wielding considerably more influence than government officials are willing to admit. According to the same sources, both the government’s inner circle and party secretary Kostas Kyranakis have apparently decided to sow panic across the country, pushing the narrative that if Alexis Tsipras and ELAS return to power, terrorism will resurge and Greece will be thrown into turmoil. Party officials paid particular attention to what Kyranakis said during his interview on Action 24, where he urged ND members who wish to enter politics to do so without fear. “As if New Democracy hasn’t been governing Greece for seven years. They bear responsibility for everything that is happening,” ELAS officials said pointedly.
Marinos Skandamis, the party’s spokesperson on citizen protection, responded to Kyranakis’s statements, saying: “Kyranakis’s remarks are a monument to the political machinations of ND’s shadowy underbelly, and at the same time, a shameless act of political grave-robbing over the tragic loss of a human life in a terrorist attack.” He continued: “Terrorism is an enemy of democracy and must be fought not only through police action — which must be intensified — or through international cooperation alone. It also requires ongoing democratic education and awareness, the sensitization of citizens and communities, and above all, the defense of the rule of law and the strengthening of institutions in order to build public trust. Everything coming from New Democracy belongs to the past. We in ELAS are talking about the future…”
It is worth noting, however, that Kostas Kyranakis appeared to partially walk back his comments about Alexis Tsipras the following day, acknowledging that the former prime minister’s statement regarding the events in Thessaloniki was clear and without any caveats.
