“Fighting for your homeland is not a ‘job’! And in the struggle for the Fatherland, there is no ‘pension.’ The contract you have made with your conscience—to serve the Fatherland and defend it—does not expire at any point. It follows you until your last breath.” This was emphasized by former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at an event in Heraklion, Crete, titled “Challenges and Prospects for Tomorrow’s Greece.”
And this, as he said, “is my message to the young people! To follow the straight path, not the detours. To choose the struggle of life, not capitulation, before they’ve even lived their lives. And yes, I would not be here today, standing before you, before the honored men and women of Crete, if I did not believe that the country is in danger. And that there is another Greece that is not being heard. One comprised not only of center-rightists, but of patriots and democrats from all political camps, who are weary of this endless “madhouse” of constant confrontations, all for the sake of appearances.”
These citizens—the many, Mr. Samaras noted—“constitute the other Greece. There is a Greece that produces and creates. There is the Greece of the family and the provinces. There is the Greece of people who wake up every morning to keep their businesses, their fields, their shops, and their homes afloat. The Greece of honesty. The Greece that does not ask for privileges. It asks for opportunities. The Greece that does not ask for handouts. It asks for a future. The Greece that is not ashamed to speak of the Fatherland. That is not ashamed to speak of Orthodoxy and our Faith. The Greece that wants security. It wants borders. It wants meritocracy. It wants competitiveness. It wants production. It wants national self-confidence. And this Greece today is suffocating, becoming disillusioned, giving up, abandoning hope. But do not consider this bleak reality to be insurmountable, nor a given. Everything can change.”
The former prime minister emphasized that “even in the deepest despair, hope is always reborn in this blessed land! So that is my message. And if you ask me what can be done, there is one thing I can tell you with certainty right now: Politics—like Nature, like History—cannot tolerate a vacuum. This Greece of Dignity, of Integrity, of Competitiveness, of Pride, and of Hope—beyond and above political parties—will not remain resigned and silent. It will claim its rightful role and take its destiny into its own hands. Just as I do not mince words about what is happening now, I assure you that I have not lost my optimism about what can be achieved tomorrow.”
Furthermore, Antonis Samaras stated, “I have drawn great strength and wisdom from listening to the people. I have made my decisions. And allow me to announce them when and as I see fit.”
Mr. Samaras launched a fierce attack on the government and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom he even equated with Alexis Tsipras, on a range of issues, including national matters, the economy, justice, political correctness, and the woke agenda:
“How similar are they to each other? They’re like two sides of the same coin! And it’s a shame for the people of the Party. Because we fought Mr. Tsipras’s SYRIZA fiercely on political grounds from 2012 to 2015. Back then, we formed an ideological front of reason against him. And today, we’ve ended up with the center-right—homeowners and businesspeople—feeling disappointed. I’ll say this so you’ll remember: The current image of Tsipras and Mitsotakis brings to mind the lyrics from Milioukas’s song: “How much you’ve changed, how much I’ve changed, clothes washed together that have turned pink.”
Antonis Samaras emphasized that “while the party is mutating and constantly losing ground socially, some are fantasizing about… a majority government, which, however, requires a vote share of over 37%! Don’t they see that the party has no partners for dialogue? And does Mr. Mitsotakis persist with the arrogant “who else but me can govern”? But this is no longer an ideological contest. It is crude “political pageantry.” The void in representation has political causes. The people are sending messages but are not being heard… The large center-right bloc has been left unrepresented! Because its soul was lost, in the name of power and an ideologically undefined “center.” And today’s mutated party swears by the legacy of Costas Simitis more than anyone else, rather than that of its own leaders.”