The dispute between New Democracy and Antonis Samaras is now taking on the character of an open conflict — and this is happening even before the former prime minister has officially announced his plans to found a new political party. The confrontation began on Sunday, with a televised interview given by his close associate Nikos Tsioutsias, which drew sharp criticism from senior government and party officials.
New Democracy: From the Tsioutsias interview to a new frontline with Samaras
Yesterday, however, the confrontation escalated further. New Democracy has been steadily trying to win back centrist voters who supported the party in 2019 and 2023 but appear to have drifted away — while at the same time being determined not to suffer further losses on its right flank. The party is equally keen to avoid any suggestion that it endorses the so-called “woke” agenda, let alone that it is actively adopting it.
The newspaper Estia ran a front-page story alleging that “fellow citizens who approached EOPYY pharmacies to obtain prescribed medications for serious conditions found themselves required to declare that they belong to one of the two sexes as defined by nature, and not to ‘another’.”
Samaras: The “woke agenda” is a “deliberate government choice”
A few hours later, in a Facebook post, Mr. Samaras referred to “the same woke agenda that has already infiltrated the state administration and is now being written into school textbooks,” describing it as a “deliberate government choice.” He added that “the only thing that is ‘undefined’ here is the extent of the ideological transformation of the ruling party.”
Subsequently, as Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis revealed in his own post, it emerged “that the developer of this electronic platform — a contractor for EOPYY — had built it this way by following the instructions of a particular ISO standard.” The minister noted that he had ordered the platform to be changed, which was done on Wednesday afternoon. He also accused Antonis Samaras of acting rashly, saying that “clearly, in his rush to launch his new party — with which he wants to bring down Mitsotakis — he put out a harsh announcement claiming ‘our wicked plan against the family has been exposed’… No, my dear President, a mistake was made, it was corrected. Stay calm.”
“The only ideological element in this affair is that New Democracy and the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis cares about patients and has managed to have high-cost medications delivered directly to patients’ homes, without the suffering of standing in queues that we had grown so used to over the years,” wrote Deputy Health Minister Eirini Agapidaki.
Skordas: Samaras could lead a coalition government
Further fuel was added to the fire by former deputy minister and personal friend of Antonis Samaras, Thanasis Skordas, speaking on Parapolitika 90.1. When asked whether Mr. Samaras could govern alongside New Democracy in a coalition, he responded: “We also need to talk about who could lead such a government. Mr. Samaras could lead a coalition government, because he has done it before — and successfully.” He added: “The country needs a change of direction. But can a change of direction be convincing if it is not accompanied by a change of faces?”
Why the government wants to lower the temperature before the Thessaloniki International Fair
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis then delivered the central message from the Maximos Mansion: it is time to dial down the tension. With the Thessaloniki International Fair fast approaching, the government does not want any other issue overshadowing its agenda in the lead-up to the event. Speaking on Mega TV, Marinakis stressed that the government has no “frontline” conflict with the former prime minister, adding: “We never want to enter into a process involving this kind of front or this kind of confrontation.”
