Maria Karystianou, in a Facebook post published today (27 June 2026), has denounced what she describes as “coercion, leadership cults, and the buying of candidacies” within her political party, ELPIDA (Hope). She announced upcoming internal changes, declaring: “Hope is cleansing itself—and moving forward.”
A Call for Integrity and Renewal
In the same post, Karystianou reflects on the founding ideals of ELPIDA—envisioning a free, upright Greece, free from corruption and impunity. She recalls being told early on that politics was “dirty and unethical,” that it “buys souls and consciences.” Yet she chose to enter the arena anyway, driven by conviction and supported by many idealistic volunteers who shared her vision for the country and its future generations.
She describes how trust, empathy, and shared pain forged a sense of family among supporters—and how she placed faith not in entrenched elites or self-proclaimed figures, but in “bright, principled people” who rejected systemic entanglement and refused to surrender their futures to so-called “excellents.”
Allegations of Internal Manipulation
Karystianou reveals she later learned of troubling practices within the movement: leadership cults, the commercialization of candidate nominations, covert ballot list formation, ideological purges of members, and even attempts at coercion—including directed at herself. She attributes these actions to “a few deceitful individuals” seeking to seize control and transform ELPIDA into just another part of the system.
“Divide and rule” remains, she warns, the greatest curse—and tools like slander, defamation, false accusations, and distortion are being deployed to sow discord among people united by the same suffering: those working around the clock for survival, those paying the price for others’ misconduct, those who have lost their homeland and send their children abroad in search of a better future—if they survive long enough to do so.