The “Hope” seems to have started evaporating along with the xylol. One might say this is normal, considering that the high temperatures have set in.
Not normal at all, however, if one considers that her party appeared as a much-hyped anti-establishment bride from… Russia to shake up the Greek political landscape. If one were to look for the real reason why the party of Maria Karistianou began to fall apart, they might find it in the fact that this woman completely distanced herself—on her own initiative—from the tragic role for which she became known in Greek society.
In the space of just one day, three high-profile figures withdrew from the project: the expert witness in the Tempi case Vasilis Kokotsakis, Air Force General (ret.) Athanasios Papanikolaou, and TikToker Dimitris Savvidis — figures who had been closely associated with the movement’s inception.
Karystianou reacted in her familiar manner—one marked by political ignorance, confusion, confusion, an inability to deal with reality, and staged anger. She spoke of “smear campaigns,” “slander,” and “willing accomplices” who are attempting to divide her. The war, she says, “continues.”
However, these departures are not merely an organizational setback. Kokotsakis was not just some random figure on the party’s periphery. According to reports, he served as the “linking figure ” between the Tembi movement and the political party, taking on the task of creating and coordinating local movements in Crete—a model considered “exemplary” for the rest of Greece as well. His departure , therefore, is not merely symbolic. It has organizational consequences that cannot yet be fully assessed.
In his letter, he denounced “serious organizational shortcomings” and the absence of substantive discussion on institutional, political, and organizational issues. “You cannot preach transparency when you operate with ‘inner circles,’” he wrote, attributing to Karystianou herself “the primary political responsibility” for the way the organization was run. Sources within the newly formed party explain that the acrimonious departure is directed at specific individuals—particularly Maria Gratsia. “We can’t be expected to seek Gratsia’s approval for everything that happens,” they say.
Papanikolaou went even further: stating that the organization “is led by a group of individuals, many of whom are former Niki officials.” This observation is no coincidence. Niki, the party of Dimitris Natsios, with strong religious and nationalist characteristics, does not formally belong to the same political framework as Elpida. In essence, however, they share the same Orban-style, pro-Putin, neo-Orthodox, and even anti-feminist narrative.
And all of this is reflected in the polls with chilling precision. According to the nationwide survey by RealPolls/Protagon in June, Elpida stands at 9.4% in voting intention, down two points from May—while the projected election result stands at 11.9%.
Another poll, conducted by Interview for Political, puts the party at 5.4%, marking the largest decline in the survey: 67% of citizens believe that the party’s leaders lack a convincing political presence, and only 6% recognize them as competent and serious.
The discrepancy between the measurements of various companies, ranging from 5.4% to 12.5%, does not indicate methodological differences. This gap primarily reflects the fact that Hope for Democracy has not yet established a political identity in the minds of voters.
And this is a very worrying sign for such a young political partythat began to build itself on the sentiment sparked in the collective consciousness by the unspeakable tragedy of Tempi but, before the scaffolding was even properly set up, it changed course.
Both Ms. Karystianou’s own most unfortunate statements, revealing shocking ignorance of political and diplomatic issues as well as her extreme pro-Putin stances, have shown that this is a party-as-a-tool that will exploit for unknown reasons the emotional vote it is preparing to claim. And these are not problems that can be fixed by mimicking angry social media posts, as she herself attempted to do.
It seems, then, that the transition from unspoken grief to public anti-government rhetoric with anti-establishment and apolitical rhetoric, is not a prerequisite for convincing others of her political abilities. Especially when she herself is trying by every means, likely and unlikely, to prove that she is something different from what public opinion perceives her to be.
