When Karamanlis wore a white suit – 2024-04-25 23:10:52

On April 23, 1998, Konstantinos Karamanlis passed away. On the occasion of the 26th anniversary of his death, Nikos Hasapopoulos recalled some of his moments away from politics.

Like for example the endless hours he played golf, the meals with his friends either at the Glyfada golf course or in Psaropoulos but also the fact that he was one of the first to break the strict protocol of the dark suit.

In detail what he mentions in his post: “I remembered, on the 26th anniversary of the death of the Macedonian politician Konstantinos Karamanlis, the endless hours at the Glyfada golf course, playing golf and then having lunch with his friends either at the Glyfada golf course or at Psaropoulos.

Although he did not fully possess the art of golf (unlike the couple Giorgos and Lena Ralli who were experts) he nevertheless loved and supported this sport.

But what I remember most were the Sunday lunches with his friends, his great friends, such as Manos Hatzidakis, Dimitris Horn, Takis Lambrias, his brother Achilleas Karamanlis and two or three journalists, leaders of political reporting, such as Stavros Psycharis, Pavlos Kamvysis, George Anastasopoulos later President of ESIEA and Christos Papageorgiou.

What an incredible company gathered for a Sunday lunch and let you then waste your best years on Sundays, reporting with Karamanlis.

The Sunday conversation at Psaropoulos’s table was really exciting, he made news with Karamanlis a real host, taking part in the conversation giving advice and saying in his heavy Seric accent (which many times you couldn’t understand), those famous proverbs (which were often a topic of discussion in newsrooms).

What kind of proverbs? “You don’t own the houses of your debtors.” Or the awesome line he used when the going got tough: “I’ll repeat the words of the vice president of the United States when he was told of President Roosevelt’s death: ‘Boys pray for me.’

Many times he teased his political friends who spread promises and commitments, telling them that “promises bind those who accept them and not those who give them”. Sometimes he remembered the words of Constantinos Tsatsos about the relations between politicians and their voters, asking them to keep their distance: “Distance creates relationship and relationship creates distance”.

I also remember that Karamanlis was the best dressed politician not only in Greece but also in Europe. He was one of the first to break the strict protocol of the dark suit and wore summer white, perfectly combined with a black tie. Jackie Kennedy also commented on this very elegance, when she toured her in 1961 in Sounio”.