A founding member of the “Elpida” (Hope) party is firing sharp internal criticism at Maria Karystianou. Ilias Michalas, a communications expert and founding member of the “Elpida” party, has launched a scathing attack on the party’s leadership in a lengthy social media post, targeting both Karystianou and Maria Gratsia. His criticism was prompted by the expulsion of fellow founding member Thanasis Avgerinos from the party.
“Plans were ready, daily new contacts with remarkable people and enthusiasm all around. And then suddenly… BRAKES. Strange delays, even stranger decisions. A strategy completely opposite to the one that was CLEARLY the right one. Shadowy figures and behind-the-scenes orders. A ‘citizens’ movement’ whose leadership would reach for the painkillers at the mere mention of the word ‘charter.’ A ‘citizens’ movement’ that did everything in its power to drive citizens away. Inexplicable? Not to me. Obviously not to Avgerinos either, nor to Fronimakis, nor to Kokotssakis, nor to the many others who realized (some sooner, some later) ‘what was going on’ — and that once again, the system had made fools of us. The best is yet to come…” wrote Michalas, among other things.
His full post targeting Karystianou and Gratsia
“No, this is not acceptable. Come on, ladies…
The founding declaration of “Elpida for Democracy” was submitted on May 26th. Among the first five names on the front page who signed it “honoris causa” — alongside Maria Karystianou and Maria Gratsia — were myself and Thanasis Avgerinos, as we were both very close collaborators of the two women at the time.
I won’t go into details — not because I don’t want to, but because they are endless. Thanasis and I have spent countless hours with this “company.”
Moments that will never be forgotten, since we were participants in something we believed in deeply and wholeheartedly. But alongside building Elpida, human relationships were also being built.
I didn’t know Thanasis before. That’s where we met. That’s also where I got to know Giannis Fronimakis, Vasilis Kokotssakis, Stratos, Nikos, Stelios, the other Thanasis the general, the wonderful beekeeper Kostas, and many others who had a genuine and sincere love for what was being built day by day and felt like they were truly “part of it.”
No one questioned Maria Karystianou’s self-evident position as leader. After all, we were all there because of her. She inspired us, she was the figure the public was pointing to, she was the symbolic woman — in our eyes — who could unite people and overturn the corrupt political establishment. From the very first moment and without a second thought, it was clear that alongside one Maria, at the top of the leadership team was also her lawyer in the Tempi case, Maria Gratsia.
Acceptable, if not entirely “self-evident”…
Unlike MK, whom we all know had no involvement in politics before the Tempi rail disaster, MG was actively politicized, having previously run as a candidate on the ballot of the “NIKI” party.
The first problem that needed an immediate solution was how MG’s established presence would ideologically balance within a movement that was clearly aimed PRIMARILY at a patriotic, progressive electorate — which also happens to be the largest “orphaned” voter pool in the country.
That’s where Thanasis Avgerinos played his own pivotal role.
His prior public profile couldn’t be hidden.
Thanasis didn’t introduce himself to us in May. We all knew him. We knew what he stood for and which side of political history he had decided he belonged to. Many on that same side found the “alibi” they had been waiting for to declare their support for Elpida’s journey.
The balance we were looking for was already there. The prospects were better than ever.
Plans were ready, daily new contacts with remarkable people and enthusiasm all around.
And then suddenly… BRAKES.
Strange delays, even stranger decisions. A strategy completely opposite to the one that was CLEARLY the right one. Shadowy figures and behind-the-scenes orders. A “citizens’ movement” whose leadership would reach for the painkillers at the mere mention of the word “charter.”
A “citizens’ movement” that did everything in its power to drive citizens away.
Inexplicable?
Not to me.
Obviously not to Avgerinos either, nor to Fronimakis, nor to Kokotssakis, nor to the many others who realized (some sooner, some later) “what was going on” — and that once again, the system had made fools of us.
The best is yet to come… (that little van is going to fit a whole lot of GREECE inside it)…”
