Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said that he has made his decisions about launching a new political party but would announce them "when and how it is appropriate" -the closest he has come to publicly confirming a split from the conservative mainstream, delivered after a pointed speech attacking Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government on inflation, public security and agricultural policy.
Speaking in Heraklion at an event hosted by the Noima-Kriti think tank, Mr. Samaras, 75, rejected suggestions from government officials that he should retire from public life. "Struggles for the homeland are not a profession — they follow you until your last breath," he said. Expelled from New Democracy in late 2024, he argued that today's ruling party has abandoned its traditional conservative base entirely.
"Am I to blame for inflation? Am I to blame for the woke agenda, for public insecurity, for the farmers' crisis, or for government arrogance?" he asked.
He also dismissed warnings that a conservative splinter party would damage New Democracy's electoral position, noting that the ruling party is polling at 23 to 25 percent — far short of the 36 percent needed for a single-party majority.
Political sources confirmed earlier Friday that associates of Mr. Samaras are already vetting candidates across Greece and that ten former New Democracy officials — including figures aligned with both him and former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis — have pledged to join a new movement once he issues the formal directive.
A Pulse poll this week found 11 percent of the electorate would "certainly or likely" back a Samaras-led ticket — a figure that, if it held at an election, would significantly complicate Mr. Mitsotakis's path to a third term.