Maria Karystianou, leader of the Greek political movement Elpida gia ti Dimokratia (Hope for Democracy), accused a former member of the group of collecting money from citizens to attend rallies while invoking her name.
Speaking on the Greek television channel OPEN, Karystianou said the man, who was active in Thessaloniki, had been gathering people for a fee of 20 euros, telling them the money was intended for her.
She called on anyone who had paid money in this way to contact Elpida gia ti Dimokratia, and said she would proceed with the necessary action.
Who is Maria Karystianou
Karystianou rose to public prominence in Greece as an advocate for the families of victims of the 2023 Tempi train crash before founding Elpida gia ti Dimokratia, a political movement positioning itself ahead of the country's next elections.
In the same interview, she addressed the recent departure of 22 people from the movement, amid claims that the party lacked democratic processes internally.
Karystianou rejected the accusations and demanded evidence from her critics. She said she was still waiting to hear proof, arguing that claims made without evidence amounted to slander.
She said that of the 22 people who had left, she had not even known more than half of them.
Delayed election programme
Karystianou also explained why Elpida gia ti Dimokratia would only publish its detailed policy programme shortly before the elections. She said the party had repeatedly fallen victim to what she described as intellectual theft of its ideas.
She said their founding declaration had subsequently turned up copied into the founding declaration issued by Alexis Tsipras.
Tsipras served as Greek prime minister between 2015 and 2019 and led the left-wing Syriza party before stepping back from frontline politics. He has since been working to build a new political movement.
