Former PM Samaras blasts government over Turkiye policy and wiretapping scandal
On foreign policy, speaking in Parliament, Samaras accused the government of underestimating Turkiye’s ambitions in the Aegean, Thrace and the eastern Mediterranean. He warned that Ankara’s so-called “Blue Homeland” doctrine could soon be formalized through legislation, describing this as a potential “turning point” in Greek-Turkish relations that could lead to a national crisis.
“The policy of appeasement is an illusion,” Samaras said, arguing that Turkish assertiveness has been encouraged by Greek concessions. He framed recent tensions as part of a long-term revisionist strategy by Turkiye, adding that successive Greek retreats have emboldened Ankara.
He also accused the government of weakening Greece’s international position and urged stronger action within the European Union, including greater use of diplomatic leverage to deter Turkish moves. Samaras said Athens should coordinate more aggressively with allies before any Turkish legislative changes are enacted.
Separately, Samaras turned his fire on the government’s handling of national security and surveillance allegations, focusing on the Predator spyware scandal. He questioned the official narrative that illegal monitoring activities were carried out solely by private actors and called for comprehensive investigations by both state institutions and Parliament into possible links between private individuals and public authorities.
He argued that the scandal has weakened trust in democratic institutions and raised serious unanswered questions about accountability and oversight.
In his speech, Samaras invoked the legacy of Konstantinos Karamanlis, the party’s founder, and also referred to former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis, positioning himself in contrast with the current government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom he accused of adopting an “anything goes” ideology.
A veteran figure in Greek politics who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2015, Samaras has increasingly positioned himself as a vocal critic of his former party’s leadership. Expelled from the ruling New Democracy party in November 2024 after repeated public criticism of government policy, he is widely expected to announce the formation of a new political party in the coming days, a move that could further fragment Greece’s right-wing space.
However, the current wave of political activity extends beyond the right of the ideological spectrum, with Maria Karystianou, who rose to prominence as an activist following the deadly Tempe railway crash in 2023, launching her party on Thursday, and former leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras expected to announce his own political initiative on March 26.
The government has not yet responded to Samaras’ comments.
Kathimerini
