“The government has certain strong points and also has certain weaknesses. I believe that certain issues such as Tempe or OPEKEPE were handled in the wrong way from a communication standpoint,” stated Euripides Stylianides on Parapolitika 90.1. The New Democracy MP, speaking on the show “She and I” with journalists Stella Gantona and Thanasis Fouskidis, added that they should fully preserve the separation of the three powers and let Justice do its job. Regarding Mr. Samaras’ absence from yesterday’s presentation of his book, he said there was communication the day before with assurance that he would attend, but it was canceled at the last minute for personal reasons.
Stylianides on Parapolitika 90.1 about Middle East: “Greece didn’t have many options given the Cyprus issue”
In detail, regarding the developments in the Middle East, Euripides Stylianides said: “Any initiative that contributes to defusing the situation and achieving a ceasefire and aims for comprehensive and final peace and settlement of issues in the region is a positive initiative.” About Greece’s role, he commented: “Greece didn’t have many options given the Cyprus issue. We had to consistently insist on the principles of international law because we have the Cyprus issue behind us, where we have a blatant case of illegal invasion and occupation that continues for years without seeing corresponding sensitivities from Europe or NATO or the international community. We have invested in the principle of allied consistency and adherence to international law and maritime law – we couldn’t deviate from that. Perhaps we should have had a slightly lower tone in our relations with Russia, which we had built to a very high level, but at this moment it is destroyed.”
When asked by journalists “Was there an alternative to this?”, the New Democracy MP said: “No alternative to changing position – you couldn’t not be with your allies, but you could perhaps have maintained lower tones and I think that would have been respected by the other side too. A second weakness I see is that there were some political factors in Greece who got overly involved in the American elections, resulting in giving space to Erdogan to develop a better relationship with the Republicans and Trump – something we need to be able to continue this important relationship we have built over all the previous years with the US.”
Regarding Antonis Samaras’ absence from yesterday’s book presentation, Euripides Stylianides said: “We had communication the day before where he confirmed he would come, then for some personal reasons his associates told me he wouldn’t be able to come and so his arrival was canceled at the last minute.” Asked if he considers Antonis Samaras’ criticism fair, he commented: “I won’t judge what Mr. Samaras said or what Mr. Karamanlis said – I have my views, I have taken positions. Certainly former prime ministers have a deeper perspective on events because they have handled them from the top and certainly have choices they form based on their own experiences and knowledge.”
“Samaras’ expulsion could have been avoided”
He added that: “Large parties must have space for everyone whether they align with the central line or not. They must have space and allow them room for expression because such a thing works as a relief valve and makes them great. New Democracy has proven to be the most resilient party since ’74 and continues to be dominant in the political scene and to be a guarantor of stability and governability. In my opinion, Samaras’ expulsion could have been avoided so we wouldn’t have today’s problems. I hope we all find ourselves together because this will make us even stronger even if there are differentiations on central issues.”
Finally, regarding the government, Euripides Stylianides stated: “The government has certain strong points and also has certain weaknesses. I believe that certain issues such as Tempe or OPEKEPE were handled in the wrong way from a communication standpoint. This hurts us because it distances us from part of our social base and from part of society. I estimate that if we should have done something from the beginning, it was to fully preserve the separation of the three powers and let Justice do what it must do without intervening positively or negatively. It doesn’t mean we intervened, but when you take positions on certain issues either as a minister or as an MP, it’s very difficult for someone to consider that you don’t contribute to forming a climate. That is, technical issues that should be addressed exclusively procedurally or technocratically became political issues without reason.”
