Tom Ellis

It is a tactical and long-term strategic error for a former prime minister to create a new, inevitably small party simply because he wants to express the clarity of his views, and this not only concerns Antonis Samaras, who was recently expelled from the ruling conservatives for questioning the government's policies.

Speaking at a book presentation in Patra, former prime minister Kostas Karamanlis kept his distance from the government and took issue with the recent expulsion from ND of former PM and his successor at the helm of the conservatives Antonis Samaras, while calling for unity, both inside the party as well as on a broader national level.

The environment of confrontation in which Greece has historically been forced to operate is particularly demanding, given not only the geographic size and population of Turkey, but also its intentions and aspirations regarding the role it wants to play in a vast geographical area where Hellenism is not only present, but has its own role and interests.

Despite the best intentions of the Greek side, the complex and potentially explosive Greek-Turkish puzzle remains unresolved and indications are that this will continue for the foreseeable future.

As the inauguration of Donald Trump approaches and the political crises in Germany and France unfold, Greece is bracing for a period of geopolitical uncertainty with potential regional implications.

Putting aside the hyperbole and simplistic comments, let alone the sexist ones, concerning the newly designated US ambassador to Athens, Kimberly Guilfoyle, the informed observer who has followed Greek-American relations over the years knows that what's important in an ambassador in a post like Athens is the ability to influence policy at the highest levels.

As the Middle East is exploding and a new geopolitical landscape is being shaped in the Eastern Mediterranean, US diplomacy will play a major role in the outcome, which already involves a change in regional dynamics.

There are growing indications that Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is attempting to emerge, and is succeeding, as US President-elect Donald Trump's privileged interlocutor in Europe.

Most Greek experts on military and security affairs, including many in uniform, have for years pointed out the need for a radical overhaul of the way the Hellenic Armed Forces are organized.

New Democracy's nomination of Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas for president of the Hellenic Republic ensures unity in the governing party and calm in its electoral base, but veers from the customary practice of the last 30 years, whereby the country's highest office was held by a person who did not hail from the same ideological camp as the ruling party.