New Democracy looks to pick up the pieces

New Democracy’s executive committee is due to meet on Thursday as the conservative party begins the process of trying to heal the wounds from Sunday’s election defeat.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras met on Wednesday with outgoing Parliament Speaker Vangelis Meimarakis, also a New Democracy official, to discuss the fallout from the party’s defeat.

Samaras has yet to meet with any other top-level officials from within his party.

At the moment there have been no moves to challenge Samaras’s leadership but, at the same time, none of the party’s heavy hitters has come to his defense in the wake of a disappointing campaign.

In contrast, former party leader and ex-Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has been in contact with some leading figures within the party, such as outgoing Defense Minister Nikos Dendias, Central Macedonia Governor Apostolos Tzitzicostas and ex-Education Minister Evripidis Stylianidis. There is no suggestion at this stage that Karamanlis is considering a comeback.

Sources close to Samaras said that the ex-premier’s strategy is still to wait and see how the SYRIZA-led government performs as he believes that it could collapse soon, prompting a new round of elections.