November 2024: after months of brewing tensions, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis summarily ousted his predecessor, Antonis Samaras, from the ruling New Democracy party. The decision followed harsh accusations that the current premier is taking the country down a treacherous path at home and abroad. Yet, New Democracy under Mitsotakis has won three landslide electoral victories since 2019, and Greece enjoys global praise unseen in many decades.
How can success breed such bitter conflict between two leading political figures?
Success can often lead to bitter conflict, as seen in the recent political drama between Greek leaders Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Antonis Samaras. Their long-standing rivalry within the New Democracy party, despite electoral victories, highlights key lessons for business partnerships:
- Acknowledge the Relationship History – Unresolved grievances and unspoken tensions can erode psychological safety. In business, avoiding difficult conversations about the past only leads to resentment and eventual breakdowns.
- Maintain Open Communication – Trust diminishes when partners feel unheard or excluded. Clear communication bridges must be maintained to prevent misunderstandings from escalating.
- Align on a Shared Purpose – A common goal keeps partnerships stable. Without it, personal agendas take over, turning professional disagreements into destructive conflicts.
This recent Greek political feud serves as a cautionary tale: unchecked success without trust, communication, and shared purpose can lead to bitter fallout, both in politics and business.
How runaway success carries the seeds of discord
Understanding the undercurrents of the partisan infighting in Greece’s ruling party is not just a matter of political intrigue. It offers crucial insights for business partners, particularly in the face of runaway success. The absence of psychological safety, trust, and shared purpose that fueled this Greek political drama is a cautionary tale for the business world. Disregard these three factors, and success can quickly spiral into disaster. Here are three important lessons:
Lesson #1: Ignore relationship history – at your peril
Business partners rarely come together without emotional baggage stemming from their history. Unresolved misunderstandings, unexpressed grievances, unmet requests, hidden agendas, feelings of personal rejection, and professional betrayals all contribute to their relationship dynamics. More often than not, they avoid addressing these topics because they don’t want to “rock the boat.” This lack of psychological safety makes it hard for them to have those difficult conversations, creating a cycle that can spiral out of control: when they stay silent, resentment builds up, misunderstandings grow, and the sense of safety in the relationship diminishes. Eventually, all that tension can lead to a dramatic conflict.
Here is how this played in our Greek political drama: Back in 1992, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, who was the prime minister and the father of the current premier, fired Samaras from his job as foreign minister over some key policy disagreements. After that, Samaras formed a new political party and ended up toppling the Mitsotakis government. Since 2004, Samaras and Mitsotakis Jr have alternated as party leaders and primer ministers under the same partisan roof. Did they ever address their longstanding family feud and truly “turned the page”? It seems unlikely. With thirty years of unresolved animosity between them, it’s hard to see how they could ever feel safe in each other’s presence.
-> Understanding the relationship’s history and addressing thorny issues early on are the cornerstones of psychological safety in a business partnership.
Lesson #2: Build communication bridges – don’t burn them
Disagreements and misunderstandings are a normal part of any vibrant business partnership. Partners are often passionate about their views and want their voices to be heard. However, with the daily stresses of running a business, it’s easy to overlook what our partners need to say. This can damage the trust within the partnership and raises concerns about two fundamental aspects of their relationship: character and competence. When trust diminishes, partners may start doubting each other’s motives and integrity. They may also begin to view their partner’s performance through a negative lens, questioning their ability to get the job done. In most cases, the real issue isn’t poor judgment or performance, it’s the nagging feeling of not being heard and respected within the relationship.
Diminished trust was at the core of our Greek political drama. Samaras believed that Mitsotakis had been orchestrating his exclusion for quite some time. Despite this, he was able to voice his views weekly with Mitsotakis’s cousin, a senior government advisor, who facilitated communication between the two. When that connection collapsed due to an unrelated national intelligence scandal and wasn’t replaced, Samaras suddenly found himself isolated. Over time he felt increasingly ignored and thought his opinions were being mocked and criminalized. Without proper access, he got ever more vocal about his criticism of the government’s social and foreign policies, which eventually led to him being ousted from the party he once led.
-> Different opinions and perspectives call for regular and clear channels of communication. When these fall apart, trust between business partners erodes, damaging morale and undermining performance.
Lesson #3: Keep your sense of purpose alive – or die with it
Even in situations of diminished psychological safety and trust, a shared sense of purpose helps business partners overcome all kinds of hurdles. Aligning behind a common cause helps partners focus on the business and keeps their interactions anchored to what is essential. However, when the partnership’s North Star starts to fade or becomes less inspiring, partner disagreements become personal, and arguments escalate into vendettas.
Mainstream parties in a democracy have a primary goal: to win elections and maintain control of power. By November 2024, New Democracy had achieved more than winning three consecutive electoral contests within five years; it had also witnessed the fragmentation of its opposition into various factions, weak and unable to mount a significant challenge in the foreseeable future. Instead of focusing on consolidating their position through further unity, Samaras and Mitsotakis got caught up in their own identity narratives: one as the “uncompromising nationalist” and the other as the “progressive liberal.” Detached from the shared objective of winning the next election, their arguments over policy turned into a classic Greek drama, complete with ungrateful villains, unfairly treated victims, and heroic saviors. The final act of this drama is yet to be revealed.
Conclusion
Runaway success can be exhilarating. It can also be disorienting. When business partners lose sight of their shared goals, they risk getting caught up in personal dramas, which can jeopardize both their relationship, their health, and their business venture.