Panos Kammenos on Maria Karytsianou: ‘She’s Entering Unfamiliar Territory’

Former ANEL leader Panos Kammenos delivered sharp criticism of Maria Karytsianou’s public interventions on Greco-Turkish issues, warning that her involvement in matters she doesn’t fully grasp could harm her political prospects after the ‘first election’. Speaking on OPEN Monday morning (02.02.2026), Kammenos described Karytsianou as riding a wave—potentially securing high first-round vote shares amid relaxed voter behavior—but stressed that the second round would demand serious policy convergence, especially on Greece’s geopolitical and energy role in the Eastern Mediterranean. He expressed willingness to entrust her with a judicial role in a national unity government, provided her commentary on national issues becomes more restrained and technically precise. On constitutional reform, he deemed revision of Article 86 ‘mature’ and feasible with up to 200 votes, backed ending civil service permanence, and advocated for judicial self-governance. Regarding the presidency, he opposed lifelong terms and called for term limits across political office. On Greco-Turkish tensions, he labeled Turkey’s recent open-ended NAVTEX illegal and urged protocol-based responses, opposing a Mitsotakis–Erdoğan meeting while casus belli threats and naval provocations persist. He praised Greek–US relations as being at their strongest level, linking Greece’s energy strategy with strategic alignment with Israel and the US. On other political figures, he assessed Alexis Tsipras as potentially weak in the first round but pivotal as a unifying force for smaller left-wing parties in the runoff, while noting Nikos Androulakis holds decisive influence over coalition dynamics.