There’s a joke doing the rounds in Greece concerning the conservative main opposition New Democracy party elections on Sunday, December 20. “Who will win the ND leadership? Will it be Vangelis Meimarakis, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Adonis Georgiadis or Apostolos Tzitzikostas?” The response is Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) PM Alexis Tsipras… In this case, there may be a smidgeon of truth in the joke with a focus on the relations between former conservative ND prime minister Kostas Karamanlis and current leftist Prime Minsiter Alexis Tsipras.

Former ND MPs Theodoros Rousopoulos and Evripidis Stylianidis spoke of Karamanlis’ relationship with Tsipras, resulting in turmoil between the four candidates of the party, following leaks concerning Karamanlis’ silent support of the the leadership bid made by Meimarakis.

In an interview with private radio station Vima FM, Rousopoulos surprised listeners after giving praise to Tsipras and statements that there have been various consultations between Tsipras-Karamanlis, including one on the night of July 12 during the negotiation in Brussels with the EU partners of Greece that resulted in the third bailout.

The radio interview was downplayed by the environment of Karamanlis, stating that  contacts did not necessarily mean that the two men had an “open line”.