The only major goal not attained
You had the good fortune to meet Karamanlis after he had left politics for good. Did he ever confide in you about anything he thought was a serious mistake or something that he did not manage to carry through? Karamanlis persistently aimed at normalizing Greek-Turkish relations. But he did not succeed and that may be the only major goal of his that was not attained. Personally, I believe that this was mainly due to the fact that he did not get a response from the other side. Apart from that, he had the rare privilege, for this country, of not only achieving all his major goals, in short to change the destiny of Greece, but also to live to see the almost universal recognition of his work. That is rare if not unique for this country. I believe that he went as he deserved to, with the love and respect of all.
