Mitsotakis’ New York Fiasco: A Symptom of a Government in Crisis
Source: English edition – in.gr
The government side attempted to downplay the impression caused by the cancellation of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who preferred to attend a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming that the meeting would not have been particularly significant and that, in essence, the country’s foreign policy is conducted through other channels rather than such high-level meetings.
However, because a country’s foreign policy is also conducted through summit meetings—which usually, beyond symbolism, indicate whether steps are being taken and in what direction—the cancellation of a meeting that would have recorded one of the government’s supposedly key successes, namely the relatively good climate in Greek-Turkish relations, can be considered a political and diplomatic failure.
This is especially true when the overall tally of the Prime Minister’s meetings in New York was not particularly large, while the Turkish president managed to meet the U.S. President and could, in any case, celebrate the improvement of U.S.-Turkey relations, including issues related to defense supplies.
Lack of a Channel with Donald Trump
Things are made even worse for the Greek government by the widespread perception that it currently faces real difficulties in having a communication and coordination channel with the U.S. government and President Donald Trump himself.
This is despite the fact that it is a government that sought to have a particularly pro-American stance, led by a Prime Minister from a political dynasty that has always prided itself on direct ties to key nodes of the American political establishment.
In this context, the video circulated last June showing the Greek Prime Minister trying to attract the attention of the U.S. President while he was speaking with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was not just a moment the media “blew out of proportion,” but rather a reflection of the situation in which Greek foreign policy finds itself in relation to the American leadership: trying to capture attention and interest, and basically failing.
This was further evidenced by the awkwardness on the Prime Minister’s face when he was asked by Wall Street Journal journalist Emma Tucker in New York whether he had met the U.S. President during his term: “No, I saw him yesterday at the reception, we had a conversation. I have met him as I am one of the leaders who worked with President Trump during his first term, and we had a very good collaboration.”
When Kyriakos Mitsotakis Condemned “Trumpism”
The problem the Prime Minister faces is that, although he can cite a “very good collaboration” with Trump in 2019-2020, he later chose to take a position in the internal American political divide, specifically against President Trump.
For example, when extensive incidents occurred in Washington on January 6, 2021, the Prime Minister commented from his official Twitter account: Extremely troubled by the violence and horrible events taking place in Washington D.C. American democracy is resilient, deeply rooted and will overcome this crisis. A gesture that exceeded the usual rule that heads of state do not comment on developments in neighboring countries.
Extremely troubled by the violence and horrible events taking place in Washington D.C. American democracy is resilient, deeply rooted and will overcome this crisis.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) January 6, 2021
However, Mitsotakis did not stop with this general statement. A few weeks later, in February 2021, when the “Lignadis affair” erupted and opposition parties demanded the resignation of Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, the Prime Minister’s response in Parliament was: “I fully understand your call for a minister’s resignation. You have done this with half the members of the cabinet. It is your right. However, the swamp into which you have dragged the confrontation is not your right. It is left-wing Trumpism. Practices condemned in the U.S.”
It is clear that with these statements, the Prime Minister went beyond merely condemning issues and essentially treated the current American President as the embodiment of all political problems.
The reference to “left-wing Trumpism” became particularly favored by the Prime Minister. On November 14, 2022, speaking to the Central Committee of New Democracy, and as the scandal over the wiretapping affair had already erupted, Mitsotakis stated: “Now they are preparing their defeat by challenging even the most important achievement of the post-junta era, the integrity of elections and the smooth transition of power to the winner. Left-wing Trumpism in all its glory.”
Unilateral Alignment with the Democratic Party and Joe Biden
Why, then, would an experienced politician like Mitsotakis, who follows political developments closely, choose in 2022 to use such disparaging terms for an American politician who was already on the path to returning to power and held a prominent role in the Republican Party?
The answer lies in the way Greek foreign policy during Mitsotakis’ government period primarily aligned itself with the Democratic Party (in contrast to the traditionally good relations of the Mitsotakis family with Republicans).
This was likely based on the expectation that the Democrats would turn their pre-election rhetoric against Erdoğan into practical pressure on the Turkish side. Although, the most recent practical pressure on Turkey had already occurred in 2019 when it was excluded from the F-35 program due to its decision to acquire Russian S-400 systems.
Essentially, the Greek government considered that such alignment with the Biden administration, including the adoption by the Prime Minister of negative statements about “Trumpism,” would enhance the country’s position vis-à-vis Turkey.
The Prime Minister himself seemed to believe he had achieved this with his speech at the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on May 17, 2022.
This explains why, during that period, he chose rhetoric hostile to the other American party, especially given that Trump’s real influence in the Republican Party remained particularly strong.
Of course, a careful observer would have already seen that it was uncertain whether this strategy was effective, at least regarding pressure on Turkey or the formation of a different balance.
During Biden’s administration, Turkey managed not only to overcome initial distrust but also, despite not aligning with Western sanctions on Russia, to claim a broader mediating role, while developments in Syria placed it in a relatively better position (as a power negotiating with Islamist rebels), while maintaining its active role in Libya. And Trump’s return to the White House meant for Erdoğan the return of a leader he had previously been able to negotiate with.
The Difficult Position After Trump’s Re-election
All of this placed Mitsotakis in an extremely difficult position after Trump’s re-election. He, a supposedly pro-Western and pro-American politician, is now called to work with a leader he had characterized as an example to avoid.
Matters were not made easier for the Prime Minister by the fact that he aligned himself with the positions of other European countries on issues such as tariffs, stating, for example, that “President Trump announced what I would call a colossal shift in U.S. economic and international trade policy. It is a historic turn towards protectionism.”
The Greek-American relationship—unlike that of other European countries—concerns primarily geopolitical issues and only secondarily trade. Notably, Trump relied heavily on major high-tech companies, which the Greek government is also trying to attract.
Even worse, Mitsotakis repeatedly positioned himself negatively toward a U.S. leader who often bases his judgments more on personal impressions of a leader -a legacy of his previous business activities—rather than on deeper geopolitical analyses. Not to mention how he weighs the dynamics on social media and in the public sphere.
This is reflected in how the U.S. President continues to acknowledge Erdoğan as a counterpart, speaking with admiration and appreciation, even while asking Turkey to stop purchasing Russian oil.
It is this comparison—between indifference toward a Greek Prime Minister, who has supposedly tried to align with American choices, and statements of admiration for a Turkish President who diverged from key American positions—that highlights the serious problem the government faces in Greek-American relations.
The Crisis of Governance Logic and a Closing Political Cycle
All of this reflects a broader problem, not simply that Mitsotakis chose a unilateral stance toward the American political system, contrary to the tradition of Greek diplomacy to maintain channels with both major parties.
It primarily concerns a governance approach that assumes political strategy consists mainly in adopting whatever ideological trend seems dominant at the moment (in this case an “Extreme Center” ideology, lately tinged with far-right elements), rather than one corresponding to the social characteristics of the political party. It treats national foreign policy as largely aligned with the version of foreign policy promoted by the U.S. Democratic Party and a broader climate of “liberal interventionism,” overlooking that this is only one—and not always the dominant—version of American policy, especially in a context where the “Collective West” is already more complex.
This now places Mitsotakis, both within and outside his party, under criticism he used to direct at his political opponents for not having standing with Western allies or influence on the international stage.
He now bears responsibility for the downgrade of Greece’s position in the eyes of the current American administration, while Turkey is clearly rising.
This means Mitsotakis is now losing even in what seemed, according to polls, his strongest point: foreign policy.
This adds to how he is held accountable for significant electoral losses—the guided media reports about the gap from the second party convince no one when it is clear that New Democracy has lost any chance of an outright majority—and the inability to respond to increasingly deep dissatisfaction.
This explains why many within his party consider that his political cycle has come to an end.
The original article: belongs to English edition – in.gr .
