The PM’s office and New Democracy have taken a hit from within the heart of the Greek diaspora, after a top party official from the community abroad stepped down: Athanasios Tsouchantaris, head of New Democracy’s diaspora organization (DIMEP) in Australia. While his resignation letter cites serious health reasons requiring him to step back, its contents amount to a harsh rebuke as well.
He accuses the leadership under Kyriakos Mitsotakis of having become fully disconnected from the party’s ideological roots. He points, among other things, to the legalization of same-sex marriage, the “calm waters” approach toward Ankara even as Turkey keeps challenging Greek sovereign rights, and what he describes as indifference toward rural Greece and the diaspora.
Perhaps most seriously, he also drops clear hints about “outside institutional influences” shaping party decisions, calling for party bodies to remain fully independent from individuals holding state or religious office.
He put it plainly: “loyalty to principles comes before loyalty to mechanisms, and political dignity comes before personal expediency.”
A significant blow
It’s worth noting that Tsouchantaris, beyond serving as DIMEP secretary and running as a New Democracy candidate in the last European elections, is a figure with deep, long-standing influence in the diaspora community, having spent decades in senior roles with the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, on the board of the Greek Community of Melbourne, and across numerous federations and associations.
