A simple apartment on Daphnis Street in the suburb of Palaio
Psychiko forms the “personal space” of the country's First Citizen.
He shares it with his eldest son, Dimitris, his son's wife, Eleni, and their
two children, Costis, seven, and Jenny, four, who are kept well back from
the false glamour of publicity.
The only sign that perhaps indicates that this is the residence of the President
of the Republic is the guard outside. This seems to be the only source of
concern for his granddaughter: she wants her grandfather to go on being President
of the Republic so that she can enjoy the company of her favorite policemen!
So what do these loved ones who share their home with Costis Stephanopoulos
do? Dimitris has his own company for Internet products and services. Eleni
teaches English. Costis has just finished the first class of elementary school
and Jenny is getting ready to join the pre-infants program at a public school.
The President's daughter-in-law readily gives us a guided tour through the
inner parts of their shared house. “My father-in-law is a simple and
gentle man, a discreet person; sharing a home with him creates no problems,”
she says. Regular and predictable in his habits, the President of the Republic
follows the patterns of his routine with religious scrupulousness. He gets
up every morning at 7.30 and reads the newspapers. He takes a bath and leaves
for work without having coffee.
At midday he returns home to eat with Eleni and the children (Dimitris is
still at work). “The children wait for him. They fall out about who's
going to open the door for him, who gets the first kiss. He treats them very
tenderly,” our guide tells us.
“My granddad is President,” little Jenny tells us with disarming
naivety. If you ask her to continue the phrase, you will get no response.
Because of her age... At that point her elder brother, more a man of the world,
puts in: “Granddad is a lawyer.”
In the afternoon, the President takes a siesta and at 6 sets out again for
his office. His evening finishes at 9, unless he has other commitments. He
has a light supper and plays with the children as they get ready for bed.
“Father,” Eleni tells us, “doesn't read children's stories
to them. He describes history events and answers their questions. He's not
the typical grandfather who knows how to choose presents. But he remembers
namedays and birthdays and I usually see to his obligations.”
President Stephanopoulos spends his summer weekends at his country house at
Rio, always with a full quorum of the family: his daughter Irene, her husband
and two children, Ilias who is unmarried, and Dimitris and his family, whom
we've already met.
Life flows on, or so it seems, in a simple and unclouded way for the residents
of Daphnis Street. His daughter-in-law denies the recent persistent rumors
about the President's health. “Would he be able to spend so much time
in an airplane if he had health problems?” she asks indignantly. At the
same, she reveals that the President neglects his regular check-ups and that
he's never had a family doctor: “He's always active and optimistic, ready
to help out with the children. He even babysits.”
But this must happen on very rare occasions. The President admits, without
any trace of guilt in his voice, that he's never had enough time to dedicate
to his children and grandchildren. Yesterday a politician, today an institution,
tomorrow... an ordinary citizen. Costis Stephanopoulos is already preparing
himself for the day when his term in politics will come to an irrevocable
end. Besides, it's not the first time that he's put an end to his political
career...
Epsilon: Which crucial political decision changed the course of your career?
Stephanopoulos: When I withdrew from politics. After
the failure of the Democratic Renewal Party in the Euro-elections of June
1994, I withdrew from politics.
Epsilon: Did you think that you would get a second
round?
Stephanopoulos: Not only did I not believe in a second
round, but I had also announced in advance that should the party fail in the
elections, then it would be dissolved and I would cease to be involved in
politics.
Epsilon: What persuaded you to return?
Stephanopoulos: That wasn't the way it happened. It
wasn't my initiative. When I was called upon, I considered the proposal an
honor, coming as it did from both parties, PASOK and Politki Anoixi. But I
hadn’t foreseen or planned anything of the kind.
Epsilon: How great a role have circumstances played
in your career?
Stephanopoulos: For me, circumstances have played a
defining role, but I think that happens in everybody's career.
Epsilon: What do you put down as “circumstances”?
Stephanopoulos: The fact that I was called upon to become
President of the Republic was a coincidence of the political circumstances
of that time.
Epsilon: How would you sketch the country's political
landscape at the present time?
Stephanopoulos: Ideological divergences are not as sharp
as they were in the past. Nonetheless ideological and political differences
continue to exist. They all manifest themselves within a thoroughly democratic
context. We are all satisfied with the way our political life has developed.
We are content that it has stabilized in a landscape far removed from fanaticism
and acrimony.
Epsilon: How do you see the roles of government
and opposition in the country's political life?
Stephanopoulos: As the Constitution provides and as
those two factors function in democratic systems. It is always the government
that governs and the opposition that monitors. I think our political system
works very well.
Epsilon: What is the day to day routine of a President?
Is life difficult? Can you sleep easy at nights?
Stephanopoulos: As you know, the President of the Republic
has limited responsibilities, or almost none at all, since the Constitution
relieves him of responsibility. He has, however, various obligations that
he tries to fulfill as best he can by means of his presence at home and his
trips abroad.
Epsilon: Do you wake up every morning anxious about
Greece’s future or concerned about your family?
Stephanopoulos: This is an anxiety that all Greeks have,
particularly those who are in office and hold the country's fate in their
hands. Our country needs always to be vigilant and be constantly on the watch.
It needs an intense application by all in whatever they should and can do.
Thank God, I have no concern or anxiety about my family at the moment. I hope
that in the future I will feel the same way, as long as all of them are in
good health, my children and my grandchildren.
Epsilon: Have you made sacrifices at a private level
in the interests of your career?
Stephanopoulos: I wouldn't say so. I haven't felt the
need to make any sacrifice. I may not have been such a good father not seeing
much of my children at the time, not seeing much of my grandchildren today.
But I did that when I was a lawyer. Whatever I would do, I’d try to do
it well, and so I've not had much time to dedicate to my family. I've always
dedicated less time to them than I should have.
Epsilon: Would you like to see one of your children
or grandchildren following your career?
Stephanopoulos: Personally, I have no such desire, nor
do I have any objection to prospects of the kind. This is something that depends
on each single individual and his aspirations.
Epsilon: Which role prevails in your life, that
of President or of father and grandfather?
Stephanopoulos: The two roles are not in conflict. One
role does not prevail over the other. I try to fulfill both, not one at the
expense of the other. In any event, the role of grandfather is very limited
when there are good and sufficing parents, as there are in our family.
Epsilon: Which have you experienced more in the
course of your life, bitter disappointment or satisfaction? What disappointments
would you think worth mentioning?
Stephanopoulos: I've said this on other occasions and
perhaps I haven't been believed. No one is entitled to be disappointed by
the people's vote. From the very beginning of one’s political career
one should expect and be aware that the people may at any time disapprove
one’s political stance. Therefore, what I have experienced is precisely
the truth revealed by this simple observation. I feel no bitterness over the
people's attitude when they voted against me personally or against the party
I had founded.
Epsilon: What is your relationship with your grandchildren?
Stephanopoulos: With my grandchildren who are old enough
to understand (because the others are still infants), I try to be a good grandfather.
Epsilon: Do you tell them stories?
Stephanopoulos: In the little time I spend with them,
I don't tell them stories, but I talk to them about various things.
Epsilon: Recently, during your visit to Canada,
you apologized for errors and omissions of the past. What were these?
Stephanopoulos: I apologized for anything Greece has
not done to support the efforts of Greeks abroad. If Greece hasn't sent them
a sufficient number of teachers, we should apologize. If Greece hasn't taken
enough interest in their schools, the same applies. If Greece hasn't supported
Greeks abroad over matters of specific concern to them... I apologized to
the Greeks abroad who are struggling for our national interests. They ask
our country for so little and our country gives them even less than what they
ask for. As far as I am aware, they ask for our support to preserve our Greek
tradition and language. Of course, the Greek communities abroad, as I understand
it, are capable of operating without having to wait for financial support
from the Hellenic State. On the contrary, with their contributions they support
various initiatives of national interest, such as the establishment of academic
chairs dedicated to Greek History and the Greek language.
Epsilon: When one fine morning you wake up to find
you are no longer President, what will you do?
Stephanopoulos: I'm already preparing for that moment.
I'm aware that the day will come, and soon, because time runs on without mercy.
I'm getting ready for that moment, but I don't know how I'll feel the next
day.
Epsilon: Will there be a gap in your life?
Stephanopoulos: It's not certain that there will be
such a gap. When one goes from active life (and I don't mean only in politics)
to a quieter style of existence, some problem always arises. One must find
other forms of occupation to fill one’s time and one’s daily routine.
