Greece’s ruling party expels ex-premier over blasting government

ATHENS

Greece’s center-right New Democracy party expelled former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Saturday following his sharp criticisms of the premier and foreign minister.

“Former prime ministers have the special privilege of occasionally expressing their views and concerns on policy issues,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said in a statement, according to public broadcaster ERT.

“However, Mr. Samaras, in his latest interview (in daily To Vima), did not express any opinions. He expressed his complete disagreement with the entire government policy,” Marinakis said, also accusing Samaras of telling “extreme lies” and twisting statements by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis.

He also criticized Samaras for proposing former Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis as the country’s next president, calling it an insult to current President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the presidency itself.

“No one has the right to play with the stability of the country in these troubled times,” said Marinakis.

In the interview, Samaras accused Gerapetritis and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of “appeasement” in the face of what he called “Turkish provocations.”

Samaras served as Greece’s prime minister from 2004 to 2009 and again in 2012-2015. He lost the 2015 election to the left-wing SYRIZA party, led by Alexis Tsipras.

Samaras is particularly known for his right-wing stance on social issues and migration and his hawkish approach to relations with Türkiye.