A Tale of Two Traditions: Simitis’s Funeral vs. Carter’s Farewell

None of Greece’s surviving erstwhile premier ministers were successful attendance astatine Simitis’s funeral. Credit: Orestis Panagiotou/AMNA

The ceremonial of Costas Simitis, Greece’s erstwhile Prime Minister was notable not lone for its solemnity but for a conspicuous absence: nary of Greece’s surviving erstwhile premier ministers were successful attendance.

This stands successful stark opposition to traditions observed successful countries similar the United States, wherever the funerals of erstwhile leaders are often moments of bipartisan unity and respect. For instance, astatine Jimmy Carter’s funeral, each surviving erstwhile U.S. presidents acceptable speech governmental differences to wage their respects, highlighting the heavy reverence for the bureau and the idiosyncratic who erstwhile held it.

The divergence betwixt these 2 traditions raises questions astir the dynamics of governmental legacy, respect, and unity successful Greece’s governmental landscape.

Greece’s existent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was contiguous astatine the ceremonial work for Simitis and delivered an eulogy wherever helium praised the erstwhile person contempt enactment politics. Simitis was a founding subordinate of socialist PASOK, the biggest rival enactment of Mitsotakis’ New Democracy.

He paid tribute to “a combatant for ideology and a noble governmental opponent,” who, arsenic helium said, refused to compromise his principles and follow populist slogans.

The premier curate highlighted 3 cardinal aspects of Simitis’s legacy: his content successful European integration, his methodical governance benignant and his quality to equilibrium his demanding governmental responsibilities with a passionateness for reading, creation and theater.

Representatives of astir governmental parties were besides contiguous successful the ceremonial work but nary erstwhile premier curate showed up.

Living Greek PMs were noted for their lack astatine Simitis funeral

Konstantinos Karamanlis (born September 14, 1956), who served arsenic Prime Minister of Greece from 2004 to 2009. He is the nephew of the elder Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was a cardinal fig successful Greek authorities and served arsenic some Prime Minister and President of Greece successful earlier decades. The younger Karamanlis remains an influential fig wrong the New Democracy party.

George Papandreou (born June 16, 1952) who served arsenic the Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011 during the early stages of the Greek indebtedness crisis. Papandreou is simply a subordinate of the salient Papandreou governmental household and served arsenic the person of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). His tenure was marked by important economical challenges, and helium is known for initiating austerity measures and seeking planetary bailouts to stabilize the Greek economy.

Papandreou issued a connection saying helium was successful China erstwhile Simitis was buried.

Loucas Papadimos (born October 11, 1947) served arsenic the Prime Minister of Greece from November 2011 to May 2012 during a captious play of the Greek fiscal crisis. Papadimos, an economist and erstwhile Vice President of the European Central Bank, was appointed arsenic a technocratic person to assistance negociate Greece’s economical challenges and instrumentality cardinal fiscal reforms.

Antonis Samaras (born May 23, 1951) served arsenic Prime Minister from 2012 to 2015. helium assumed bureau during 1 of Greece’s astir challenging periods, navigating the state done the depths of the eurozone indebtedness crisis. Samaras implemented strict austerity measures and sought planetary bailouts to stabilize the Greek economy, actions that were some lauded for preventing Greece’s exit from the eurozone and criticized for their societal and economical toll.

Alexis Tsipras (born July 28, 1974) held bureau from 2015 to 2019 starring the left-wing Syriza party. He came to powerfulness promising to extremity austerity measures imposed by Greece’s creditors. However, aft a contentious referendum successful 2015 and aggravated negotiations with the European Union, Tsipras agreed to a 3rd bailout program, implementing reforms that galore saw arsenic a reversal of his archetypal promises.

Tsipras said that his lack from the Simitis ceremonial was owed to wellness reasons arsenic helium contracted the COVID-19 virus.