A president whose appeal goes beyond the center-right

The time is approaching for Parliament to elect a new president of the Hellenic Republic. The prime minister is expected to announce his candidate in January, but there has already been a lot of talk regarding the pros and cons of the various likely nominations.

It is possible that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will nominate a person from the broader center-left, in keeping with what has become something of a tradition over the previous two decades. However, many in the government camp - "liberated" from the constitutional requirement of a qualified majority - make no secret of the fact that they would prefer and expect the position of the country's head of state to be filled by someone from the center-right.

If Mitsotakis recommends a candidate from his own party - which would make him the first prime minister to do so in 20 years - the least he could do is...