Meimarakis steps down as New Democracy chief
Evangelos Meimarakis officially resigned as New Democracy leader on Tuesday, citing the need for the conservative party to remain united in the wake of Sunday's failure to hold a leadership vote.
On Tuesday, Meimarakis said he had been targeted in a "vulgar and immoral" attack and that his decision was an attempt to diffuse tensions within the party and among ND supporters.
Earlier in the day, he appointed Yiannis Plakiotakis to the position of New Democracy vice president. He will retain this position until the leadership election, which the party is aiming to hold on December 13 or 20. Plakiotakis is secretary of the party’s parliamentary group.
Meimarakis said he is still a candidate for the position of party chief, alongside former ministers Adonis Georgiadis and Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Central Macedonia Governor Apostolos Tzitzicostas.
