Despite party leader Antonis Samaras declaring that the matter of leadership has “closed” since nobody initiated the formal procedures at Sunday’s political secretariat meeting, the divide, tension and uncertainty within New Democracy grows.
After the recent conventions of the party’s political committee and parliamentary group, there are three main camps emerging in New Democracy; one which opposes an emergency party conference where Mr. Samaras will undoubtedly be challenged; one supporting such a conference in order to overthrow Mr. Samaras and a third camp which wants a conference, but not necessarily to elect a new leader.
Indicative of the uncertainty in Mr. Samaras’ party was the unexpected move of European Commission and veteran ND officer Dimitris Avramopoulos to resign from his position as party vice president. This move suggests that Mr. Avramopoulos intends to take a more active stance in party developments, as he spoke of a New Democracy that “reflects the reformist, moderate center”. Mr. Avramopoulos also disputed the party’s official rhetoric regarding its recent electoral defeat, noting that “brave criticism” and “recognizing our mistakes” is necessary.
Dora Bakoyanni has been amongst the vocal proponents of an emergency conference and leadership change, claiming that unless initiatives are taken, then it will have a similar fate to PASOK, which has suffered greatly in recent elections. Other prominent party members such as Nikos Dendias and Evripidis Stylianidis – who appear to be prepared for changes within the party – have repeatedly expressed their frustration with the current leadership and urged for changes.
Without any coordinated efforts though, Mr. Samaras’ supporters appear confident that this crisis within the party will soon be overcome, since none of Mr. Samaras’ critics and potential successors initiated any official procedures. The leadership’s critics however point out that there may be major developments within the party after the government’s four-month extensions ends in April.
