Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Monday at the Presidential Palace and commented on her legacy as the first woman President of the Republic in what is likely their final official meeting.
“Today’s meeting is special and different from the usual ones and I would like to thank you not only on an institutional but also on a personal level for your impeccable teamwork during these five years,” said the Prime Minister. “History records that you are the first female president and you have given the institution special characteristics by opening the presidency to society and emphasizing social issues.”
This meeting was postponed at the last minute last Wednesday morning, when Mitsotakis announced Kostas Tasoulas as his nomination for the Presidency of the Republic, thus replacing Sakellaropoulou.
Weeks of speculation and leaks from inside the halls of parliament estimated that Sakellaropoulou could no longer garner the 200 votes required by the Constitution for election of the president, and as such Mitsotakis would name another candidate.
In his speech announcing the Tasoulas nomination, Mitsotakis stated, “In the coming period, and in a turbulent international environment, the country needs a President of the Republic with a long track record in public life and with clear political characteristics.
In Monday’s meeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated, as he has before, that he wishes to introduce a constitutional amendment to change the term period and limits of the office of the presidency: “My institutional view that we will express for the constitutional review in 2026 is that the Presidents should serve for a six-year term, if this proposal is accepted, this will be the way we will proceed. What is important is to continue the procedures for the election of a new President and forge national unity in terms of realism and truth. This is what I will seek as the leader of New Democracy, while also awaiting the stance of the other parties.”
For her part, Katerina Sakellaropoulou thanked the Prime Minister and the Parliament for the honour and cooperation. “Institutional communication between state actors is very important in a democracy and the current international scene, our times have challenges that go beyond the borders of our homeland, this makes it necessary to reach consensus for the good of the country,” she said.