Two former Greek prime ministers, Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, launched withering critiques of the current government and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday, accusing him of dangerously passive and inconsistent leadership in matters of national security and foreign policy.
The rare double intervention by party veterans—both from Mitsotakis’ own center-right New Democracy party—came during the public presentation of a new book by journalist Stavros Lygeros, "The Hidden Dimensions of the War in Ukraine."
Karamanlis, who led Greece from 2004 to 2009, warned that Greece faces the risk of becoming a “hostage to Turkey” if it continues to yield ground diplomatically and strategically in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Pointing to Turkey’s participation in EU defense programs, delays in implementing joint energy infrastructure projects with Cyprus, and what he called the appeasement of Ankara’s illegal maritime claims, Karamanlis expressed grave concern that Greece is sleepwalking into a dangerous status quo. “I see the visible risk that, step by step, almost imperceptibly, the country is being led into an irreversible state of dependency on Turkey,” he said.
Karamanlis was especially critical of the so-called “Athens Declaration” on Greek-Turkish dialogue and the rhetoric of “calm waters” in the Aegean, which he sees as a façade masking growing Turkish assertiveness. His comments highlighted a broader dissatisfaction within conservative circles about the government’s response to ongoing Turkish provocations, including its maritime boundary claims and the 2019 Turkey-Libya memorandum, which Athens considers a blatant violation of international law.
Beyond regional tensions, Karamanlis delivered a stark critique of the West’s handling of the Ukraine war. While condemning Russia’s 2022 invasion as “unacceptable and condemnable,” he faulted the West for having contributed to the conflict through what he described as “a monolithic demonization of Russia” and an inflexible push for NATO expansion. The result, he argued, has been a “strategic defeat” for the collective West, especially for Europe, which now faces high energy costs, weakened political autonomy, and growing global fragmentation.
Karamanlis further warned of a dangerous erosion of democratic norms in the West itself, criticizing what he described as censorship, manipulation of justice, and the suppression of dissenting views on Ukraine. “The pillars of democracy—free press and independent justice—are being threatened not only abroad but within the Western world itself,” he said, citing what he called a troubling drift toward “McCarthyism.”
Taking the stage after Karamanlis, Antonis Samaras, prime minister from 2012 to 2015, was even more direct in his criticism of Mitsotakis. In a pointed and at times scathing speech, he mocked the current premier’s complaints about “armchair advisors” on foreign policy, suggesting that Mitsotakis only listens to a small group of like-minded aides. “Tell him not to worry. He has Gerapetritis, Dokos, and all of ELIAMEP [a foreign policy think tank] by his side,” Samaras said sarcastically. “May God help us.”
Samaras also took aim at what he views as the government’s hypocrisy in its treatment of Russia and Turkey. While Greece was quick to align with Western condemnation of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, Samaras noted, it has continued to seek détente with Turkey—even as Ankara expands its control in northern Cyprus and ramps up military provocations in the Aegean. “We thunder against Russia, but with Turkey, which does the same things to us, we are all smiles,” he said. “Who can take us seriously?”
He dismissed the claim that Greece currently enjoys a period of calm with Turkey, arguing instead that this so-called “peace” is merely the result of inaction. “We have calm waters because we do nothing,” he said. “That’s not strategy. That’s surrender.”
Samaras also challenged the prevailing Western narrative that backing Ukraine unquestioningly places countries on the “right side of history.” He reminded the audience that Greece’s independence and wartime resistance in the 19th and 20th centuries were not aligned with dominant international trends at the time. “We didn’t care about being on the ‘right side’—we cared about doing the right thing,” he said.
Both former leaders warned that Greece’s current diplomatic strategy, particularly its treatment of Turkey as a partner rather than a rival, risks emboldening adversaries and alienating potential allies. Samaras accused the government of strategic naïveté, particularly in matters like the failed management of the Prespa Agreement with North Macedonia, the mishandling of migration policy, and what he called a premature and extreme commitment to the EU’s green transition, which he blamed for surging energy costs.
