Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis issued a pointed response to former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras‘ recent social media posts, highlighting that Samaras chose to attack New Democracy rather than comment on the significant anniversary of the 2015 referendum. The choice clearly struck a nerve with the government spokesperson, who made his views publicly known.
Government spokesperson responds to Samaras’ posts
During his Sunday interview on BlueSky, Pavlos Marinakis was asked to comment on the videos Antonis Samaras had posted on social media. The government spokesperson’s response was characteristic of the administration’s stance toward the former prime minister’s recent moves.
“When I saw that Mr. Samaras had posted some videos, given the date — today is July 5th, eleven years after the dark anniversary of the divisive referendum and everything that followed — and given that Mr. Samaras was then the leader of New Democracy and the head of the official opposition, I thought he would make a video, a post about these days, because it is important that we never forget,” the government spokesperson said. He added that “in the end, he chose to make a video against the party, against New Democracy.”
The government spokesperson further stated that “I do not wish to engage in a confrontation with a former leader of New Democracy and a former prime minister. I believe — having the honor of representing the government and the prime minister — that it is the government’s duty to implement policy for the present and the future, to work toward improving citizens’ lives, to correct mistakes, and not to enter into a process of commentary or squabbling based on a personal agenda. This is not something that particularly concerns the public.”
What Antonis Samaras said in his videos
In the first video, Nikos Tsioutsias, the press office director of the former prime minister, asked him about recent opinion polls and the criticism that if he were to form a new party, he would deprive New Democracy of its prospects for an outright parliamentary majority.
“An outright majority requires 37%. I was telling them to do ten things and they did the opposite. That is why New Democracy dropped from 40% to 20%,” Samaras replied, citing issues including same-sex marriage, foreign policy, the cost of living, and small and medium-sized businesses, before adding: “And suddenly I’m the one to blame?” The former prime minister neither confirmed nor denied speculation about the formation of a new party. When asked about government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis’ statement that any such move would confirm his expulsion from New Democracy, he responded sarcastically: “Do you know what that reminds me of? Arguments from the president of a third-division football club.”
In a second video, Samaras took aim at Dora Bakoyannis, who had attributed his behavior to “spite” in a recent interview. “What did she say now?” he asked his associate, before adding: “Do you know how many years have passed since she lost the party leadership to me? Seventeen — and she still hasn’t gotten over it,” he said, referring to the 2009 internal party contest. “She should sort things out with her brother first,” he added pointedly.
