The properties of triangles have occupied sages since ancient times. However, the Pythagorean theorem has rarely been applied in politics. One such attempt will be a joint event of three prime ministers, two former and one current, in Zappeion. Applying the theorem to the neodemocratic triangle, we can say that the square of the Mitsotakis side is equal to the sum of the square of the Karamanla side and the square of the Samara side. And since the three angles of each triangle add up to 180 degrees, the three vertices of the triangle collect 180 degrees of political influence—from the periphery of the centre-left to the extreme right of the centre-right.

This seems to be the thought of the “wise men” of the ND election campaign, among them: Giannis Bratakos, Akis Skertsos, Tomas Varvitsiotis, Stavros Papastavrou, Thodoris Livanios and Dimitris Tsiodras. At one of their meetings two weeks ago, a rather bold idea was put forward: for Mitsotakis, Samaras and Karamanlis to speak at a joint event. The proposal was again discussed at a second meeting with the Prime Minister, who immediately realized the political benefits of such an initiative. It was difficult to convince Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras.

Despite the fact that the occasion was easily found and it was the 43rd anniversary of the country’s accession to the EEC, the two former prime ministers cannot be taken for granted, and it was not certain that both of them would answer in the affirmative, especially when their statements, which they distanced themselves from the government because of the wiretapping problem. It is for this reason that the detachment of their consent could not be entrusted to the messengers. A message to Chancellor Soltz or President Macron may be legitimately conveyed through an “adviser”, but communication with former ND prime ministers. this is a much more delicate matter, and Mitsotakis knew that he must take it upon himself to avoid diplomatic incidents.

Seven years of tact

Mitsotakis has treated his predecessors with respect since 2016, when he replaced Samaras in the ND leadership, maintaining regular contact and good personal relations with them. However, he didn’t give them everything they wanted. The two former prime ministers did not raise rioters against the government, but complaints and bitterness about the prime minister’s treatment of them and their work during these four years have not been lacking. So how did he manage to convince them to support him unconditionally, thereby ensuring a loud rally for the center-right at an event just 12 days before the election?

The personal relationship between Mitsotakis and Samaras, despite the obvious ideological differences, is lighter and more relaxed than the prime minister’s relationship with Karamanlis. Samaras, a Harvard graduate, met his son Mitsotakis while he was his father’s chief minister and Kyriakos was a student at Harvard. Samaras’ relationship with the Mitsotakis family went through forty waves after 1993, but Kyriakos avoided investing in the anti-Samara feud. On the contrary, when he decided on the symbolic move of the so-called excommunication from his family, he remained in N.D. after the removal of Doras Bakoyannis in 2010 – and that mattered to Samaras. And if in the Karamanli era that preceded her, Dora became Minister of Foreign Affairs (2006-2009), and Kyriakos remained an ordinary deputy of parliament, then in the Samara era, Kyriakos was chosen by the then Prime Minister as the bearer of the family scepter in the Cabinet of Ministers (occupied by the Ministry of Administrative reforms from 2012 to 2015).

In the marginal leadership elections in 2016, Samaras threw all his weight in favor of Mitsotakis, and when the Prespa Accord was adopted in 2018, it was Samaras who took to the rallies to support the patriotic component of the party, which rejected the agreement but will accept it. its content when it comes to government. The political reward for all this, which could be the presidency of the republic or the position of commissioner in the EU, never came, and the Mitsotakis government is accused of not completing one of the latest “chips” of SYRIZA, the infamous scandal with Novartis, in which Samaras is also involved.

Samaras tells his interlocutors that he is touched by the prospect of the event at Zappeion. He was there in 1979, at the EEC accession ceremony, at the age of only 29.

Nevertheless, Samaras did not remain hostage to his discontent. Mitsotakis called him and he immediately said yes to Zappeion’s offer. Besides, they’ve been discussing a lot of things lately. One of them is the central event of N.D. in Kalamata, a few days before the elections, about which there will be a mobilization throughout the Peloponnese and at which Samaras will speak. Another issue is the decision to support ND. Former Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Vlasis for the Peloponnese region is stepping down from the region’s current governor, Panagiotis Nikas, who is accused of “hissing” as he has taken some opposition positions in recent years.

Samaras does not miss the opportunity to tell his interlocutors that he is especially worried about the prospect of an event in Zappeion. He recalls that in 1979, all the ND parliamentarians, including himself, who was then only 29 years old, were present at the EEC accession ceremony, which took place there. Of this parliamentary group, the only MPs who remained in Parliament are Samaras and Giannis Tragakis. And for this reason alone, he could not refuse the offer to speak – and it will be enough to talk about his own contribution to the country’s stay in Europe, when all those who today dream of a second seizure of power were playing dice in the “upper and lower square” in the future ” governments of tolerance.

Frankly, Samaras feels it is his duty to help keep Tsipras out of any government. In other words, he did not need to hear the Prime Minister praise his work to say yes, as happened on April 21 in Kalamata, when Mitsotakis praised the work of the then government and the personality of its leader, which certainly satisfied him. In fact, the honors and praises of Samara are finally being added. Immediately after the election, he travels to Boston, where on May 25 he will be awarded by Harvard as one of its five outstanding graduates, the only one from Europe.

History weight

Kostas Karamanlis can easily joke and smile broadly at Mitsotakis in public, but he does not have the same friendly relationship with him that Samaras does. Relations between Mitsotakis and Karamanlis could be affected by the former prime minister’s general distancing from politics, which led him to announce in February that he was leaving parliament. Karamanlis expressed his dissatisfaction with the wiretapping case and already in the summer he made harsh statements, speaking in Crete, at a memorial service for Giannis Kefalogiannis. But the real reason for the distance between the two politicians is Karamanli’s opinion that Mitsotakis hardly supported the Karamanlis period at all, leaving the impression that he can agree with those who claim that Karamanlis is responsible for the backlog in the memos. . Moreover, Mitsotakis’s decision to abstain from voting in the 2015 election of Prokopis Pavlopoulos for the presidency of the republic was interpreted as an eloquent criticism of the five-year-old Karamanlis in general.

When Mitsotakis called Kostas Karamanlis about the Zappeion event, he must have been surprised. According to his interlocutors, he did not feel any excitement about the prospect of another European fiesta, but he clearly realized that, due to his past, he could not be absent from the election campaign. Moreover, when he announced that he was leaving parliament, he stressed that he would support the campaign. A joint speech with the Prime Minister in Thessaloniki was already being prepared. However, he did not immediately answer Mitsotakis about Zappeion and asked for some time to watch his program. The next day, she called him and said that she would participate. His speech is not expected to praise the work of the government. It will have oracles, but of course it will explicitly support the New Democracy without ambiguity.

The Prime Minister’s speech is expected to be a difficult exercise in trigonometry. The purpose of the event is to emphasize that North Dakota, with all its leadership, is on the right side of history and at all times guaranteed and protected the European perspective of the country, ensuring the security and prosperity of the country and society. But Mitsotakis should probably say more about Karamanlis’s period, “equalizing” the praise he generously gives to Samaras. The prime minister’s interlocutors report that this will certainly happen not only because the period of 2004-2009 is associated with efforts to reform the state, but also because Karamanlis spoke before the elections about the difficult situation in which the economy fell, because of which he went to the polls with an austerity program in response to the gravity of the situation. Somehow the trigonometric exercise is expected to be solved in Zappion, so that the three prime ministers N.D. pass the unity exams with a good grade in view of the popular verdict.

Communication

The idea of ​​Mitsotakis, Samaras and Karamanlis to speak at a joint event was expressed two weeks ago at one of the meetings of N.D. who “leads” the election campaign. The proposal was again discussed at the second meeting, in which he participated.
a prime minister who immediately saw the political benefits of such an initiative and undertook to contact the two former prime ministers himself to convince them to accept the invitation.