Former press office members of Elpida gia ti Dimokratia issued a statement on August 7, 2026, accusing party leaders Maria Karystianou, Maria Gratsia, and Nikos Galanos of turning the movement into a small, fearful, leader-centric party. The former staff members, who are aligned with ousted spokesman Thanasis Avgerinos, said a narrow circle of courtiers caused continuous introversion and communication errors within two months of the party founding.
The former press office members said the party communication sector was never allowed to function properly. They stated that Maria Gratsia and a small circle of secret advisors under party leader Maria Karystianou maintained strict control over information flow and blocked numerous press releases from publication.
Website Handover and Domain Changes
According to the statement, a website prepared by the communication sector was ready to launch immediately after the party formed. However, leadership decided at the last minute to change the domain name to a cumbersome address and hand website management to secret advisor Nikos Galanos and his collaborators.
The former press team said they were never given editor credentials to update the new website. As a result, the website remained inactive for over a month and was subsequently updated at a very slow pace while professional communication proposals were discarded.
Disputed Media Strategy and Resignations
The former press office criticized leadership decisions regarding media representation and internal disputes. They said party leaders chose until recently not to appear in media outlets deemed unethical by party leadership.
They also stated that leadership responded to recent resignations of party officials in Crete with false allegations of surprise, deceit, and attempts to block the official website. Additionally, they accused leadership of encouraging false leaks claiming that official Kokotsakis received offers to run as a candidate for another political party.
Demands for Internal Chat Records
The statement criticized two public appearances by Maria Gratsia, accusing her of character assassination and shifting responsibility. The former press team rejected Gratsia's indirect claims of a communication blackout attempt by volunteers who provided hundreds of hours of work without technical equipment or numerous staff.
The former press office called on Maria Gratsia to publish the minutes of Political Council discussions and communication coordination chat records to prove that internal disagreements had been expressed for months. They threatened to publish the records themselves with full transparency if she continues to request facts and evidence.
The group described Nikos Galanos as an old-party fossil and stated that the behind-the-scenes replacement of communication staff with unknown individuals crowned the disregard for members who criticized leadership choices.
