I have to own up to a contradiction in my political choices. I cannot endorse the idea that Greek-Americans should necessarily support American politicians based only on whether their foreign policy stance is beneficial to Greece. Yet I find myself rooting for the few Greek-Americans in Greek politics even though I may not agree with the party to which they belong.

The first part of this inconsistency is easily explained. Let’s take Donald Trump’s candidacy in the upcoming presidential election. Trump as president, rather than Kamala Harris, could be detrimental to Greece’s interests because the Republican candidate has indicated his intention to adopt an isolationist foreign policy and downsize the security role the United States plays globally. Trump has regularly expressed irritation at the financial burdens America’s leadership of NATO entails while certain member countries have not fulfilled their financial obligations. This, coupled with Trump’s admiration for Europe’s authoritarian leaders including Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey does not bode well for Greece or Cyprus. But I would not begrudge any Greek-American their choice of voting for Trump if they believed a Trump presidency would benefit the United States and its democratic republic.

By the same token, I would not expect Greek-American supporters of the Democratic Party to vote for the likes of Gus Billirakis and Nicole Malliotakis who are members of the so-called Congressional Hellenic Caucus but are also Republicans.

When it comes to Greek politics however, I would suggest all Greek-Americans, irrespective of their party sympathies, can recognize and even appreciate the positive presence of two Greek Americans, Othon Iliopoulos and Stefanos Kasselakis. Both are members of the left-wing SYRIZA party, Greece’s main opposition party. It is currently riven by circus-like internal divisions that culminated in Kasselakis being ousted as its leader and is in a spectacular free fall in public opinion polls.

Iliopoulos just stepped down as a member of the Vouli, the Greek parliament in August of this year. He had been elected as an at large state candidate in the elections of June 2023. Iliopoulos explained he was unable to commit to a regular presence in Greece because of his workload. He is a distinguished oncologist, currently at Mass General Hospital in Boston and is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard’s Medical School. His expertise makes him the type of Greek- American that could contribute a great deal to Greece and especially the ailing public health sector. Iliopoulos also adopted more pragmatic policy positions than SYRIZA’s mainstream. He was in favor of the pursuit of excellence in education and the need for educators to submit to regular evaluation – his party is officially against both those practices. However, he appeared to toe the party line on the issue of establishing private universities in Greece, which is the only European country that bans private education. Last time I checked, his institution, Harvard University continues to be a private institution, however. While he may have other policy positions that one may disagree with, I dare say his caliber made him an outstanding representative of Greek America and the diaspora writ large in the Vouli.

I believe Stefanos Kasselakis, his politics aside, was and still is a positive addition to the Greek political world. His youthfulness, his openly gay public persona, his skillful use of social media and the fact he had not inherited his political status made him a breath of fresh air. I still cannot understand how a leftwing party would elect as its leader an alumnus of Phillips Academy in Andover, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, and Goldman Sachs. And yet he became the leader of the main opposition party. Normally in Greece such positions are reserved for scions of political families (Mitsotakis, Papandreou, Samaras) or party stalwarts (Simitis, Tsipras). Kasselakis shattered the elitist insularity of that narrow circle, much to the discomfort of its members and of the journalists with whom they enjoy a comfortable relationship. Alas, Kasselakis underestimated his own ability to survive in the world of Greek politics and his overreliance on social media channels led to accusations that he was more style than substance. Ironically, his methods might have been acceptable in New Democracy and maybe even PASOK, but not SYRIZA, where the legacies of the communist left are alive and well. There is an obsequious attachment to the history of the movement with which Kasselakis appeared somewhat unfamiliar, along with a reverent attachment to the party machine, and decision making not via the leader’s pronouncements Kasselakis favored but rather, laborious party committee meetings the where byzantine negotiations of the party’s factions took place. In short, he ended up performing an Icarus-like flight path that inevitably led to his dismissal as SYRIZA president. For all we know, Kasselakis may make a comeback, and Iliopoulos might also find a way to reappear on the political scene. But in the meantime, I for one, will miss their refreshing presence.