Things are becoming even more complicated regarding whether Maria Karystianou is seriously considering active involvement in politics. This is because, despite what communications expert and close advisor Nikos Karachalios says, there are a series of questions about who the head of the Tempi Victims’ Relatives Association could potentially collaborate with.
Based on what Maria Karystianou herself says, she would not take the lead in creating a new political entity. However, if it were a new venture that did not originate from politicians, then she could participate. Based on the current political landscape, however, both Alexis Tsipras and Antonis Samaras are considering forming parties. Given what Maria Karystianou recently said about Alexis Tsipras – “that he is a professional politician who says one thing and does another” – there appears to be no room for cooperation between the two sides. Regarding Antonis Samaras, sources say that a proposal was conveyed to her from the former prime minister to join his national ballot, which she did not accept. Many maintain, however, that Maria Karystianou would fit well in Samaras’s party, as her political orientation leans to the right.
For now, there appears to be no intention from anyone else to proceed with party formation, which is why pollsters are measuring scenarios involving parties led by Tsipras, Samaras, and Karystianou.
Maria Karystianou’s relationship with Nikos Karachalios
Regarding her relationship with Nikos Karachalios, sources say she met him in Crete on July 24th, when she had organized a major event for the restoration of democracy. The well-known communications expert, speaking yesterday on ANT1, said about his post regarding the new political entity KYMA: “The K in KYMA stands for society saying ‘do something’. People point to Maria Karystianou as someone who passes like a wave past Mitsotakis. She’s not just a mother of a Tempi victim; Maria symbolizes an idea of justice and catharsis,” Nikos Karachalios stated.
When asked about Maria Karystianou’s denial, Mr. Karachalios responded: “Maria, first of all, is a person with intense emotions after what she has experienced; she felt the power of the wave and I felt she was somewhat caught off guard.” “KYMA doesn’t belong to anyone. If she wants the domains, I’ll give them to her tomorrow,” added the former New Democracy strategic communications advisor, saying “we’ve met only 15-20 times in the last three months.” According to him, “Maria called me and said ‘I want us to proceed to organize the movement – not KYMA – that can transform into a party and go to parliament’. We did this at some point during the summer, on Maria’s orders; we called the channels and the intention was to announce a party. I understand her hesitations, as half tell her ‘go ahead’ and the other half ‘don’t get involved in politics’. They’re making a mistake; they should tell her not to get involved with parties.”
However, he clarified that “I’m not responding as Maria’s representative, but as one of many. That’s why I said KYMA doesn’t only express Tempi, but also Mati. We shouldn’t see KYMA exclusively as a Tempi issue,” concluding that “Karystianou could beat Mitsotakis by a double score in Sunday’s elections if he called them. Because when Maria moves, Samaras will move and secondarily Tsipras.”
Plakias reaction
The whole story brought renewed reaction from Nikos Plakias, who wrote in a post that “my stomach continues to turn.” Explaining his reaction, Nikos Plakias wrote: “Karachalios = Twelve years as political strategy advisor to the Karamanlis family.” “I await an official denial,” Nikos Plakias concluded in his post.
