By Paschos Mandravelis
The question of whether Konstantinos Tasoulas will be a good president is almost trivial. Of course, he will – just as all his predecessors were. After all, how can a president be “bad” when their role is, more or less, reduced to inaugurating flower shows? What would that even look like – cutting ribbons crookedly?
Yet, Tasoulas’ presidency is undermined from the start. Not only was he elected solely by his party, contradicting the words of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who said, “It is self-evident that the constitutional provision for the president’s final election by a simple majority does not negate – let me repeat, does not negate – the political responsibility of the governing majority to seek a candidate who secures the broadest possible consensus” (November 25, 2019). More significantly, Tasoulas was an active politician until just a few weeks ago – at a time when public sentiment is that “the political system serves itself.”
In 2019, Mitsotakis’ decision to nominate Katerina Sakellaropoulou was seen as bold. Now, a similar move was not just desirable – it was necessary. Not only because he had chosen a female president, but because he had expanded the institution beyond the usual rotation of former and current parliament insiders. In a way, it was a breath of fresh air for the presidency.
So, regardless of whether Tasoulas proves to be a good president, the choice itself was a poor one. This was evident at his swearing-in ceremony, where the seats of two parties remained empty. Granted, the left-wing populist Course for Freedom party and the far-right Greek Solution have their own political peculiarities, but they have found fertile ground to amplify their stance. Active politicians carry the baggage of recent political decisions – some of which have deeply harmed citizens (such as the families of the Tempe train disaster victims), while others are simply part of the usual partisan politicking.
According to PASOK, on his final day in office, former house speaker Tasoulas approved €125,000 for the Holy Metropolis of Ioannina, €30,000 for the Regional Theater of Ioannina, €5,000 for the Ipirotiki Estia association, and €815,685 for the construction of the Military Historical Museum in Konitsa (January 22, 2025).
By contrast, it’s worth noting that Sakellaropoulou, a non-politician, returned all the gifts she received during her presidency – including personal ones – before leaving office, a first in Greek history.
/Source: Kathimerini/