Karamanlis, Bakoyannis discuss ND’s future
Ex-Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis remained tight-lipped on Friday after an hourlong meeting with former Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis as New Democracy continues to absorb the impact from its defeat in Sunday’s elections.
Sources told Kathimerini that the two politicians discussed the future of the conservative party but that Karamanlis stuck to his belief that at this moment there should be no moves that would damage the group’s stability. The pair agreed to meet again after Bakoyannis completes a trip abroad to glean further information about the thoughts of Greece’s lenders.
There has been no attempt to challenge New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras from within the party. Samaras continues to hold meetings with some of the 76 conservative deputies elected on Sunday.
Samaras has asked for the party’s charter to change so that spokeswoman and MP Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou can be made secretary of ND’s parliamentary group. Lawmakers need to have served in Parliament for six years to hold this position but Asimakopoulou was first elected in 2012.
“We have to evaluate the election result but I do not think there is a question of changing leader at the moment,” she said on Friday. “Our party leader has already said that he accepts responsibility for what happened.”
