Marika Mitsotaki has passed away

Aged 82, Marika Mitsotaki, wife of honorary ND president Konstantinos Mitsotakis, passed away at 2:30 this morning. In the last few days she was being treated at Eugenides Hospital as her health had deteriorated considerably.

Dora Bakoyiannis hurries back to Athens.

“Marika will always be Marika”, she told protothema.gr with meaning last November at her mother's 81st birthday and on the occasion of the presentation of her recipe book. Intense emotions, personal health issues, historical events and unexpected situations, good and bad, marked the bustling life of the wife of the former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. Family ties and daily affectionate get-togethers around the dining room were the authentic constant on her course.

Marika Giannoukou was born on November 29, 1930, into a well known bourgeois family of interwar Athens of great financial standing, and grew up in an ideally protected environment. Polio marked her carefree childhood and she fought against this stubborn disease. She was subjected to complicated operations in the U.S. and up to her 18th birthday lived with the nightmare of permanent paralysis. Around that time, her acquaintance with Konstantinos Mitsotakis changed her life.

They got married on June 6, 1953. The family grew slowly. First Dora, two years later Alexandra, then Catherine, and many years later, Kyriakos. She stood beside her husband for 60 years, through thick and thin. Her family was above everything and the kitchen was a ritual place to develop human relationships.

The fusion of flavors, the aroma that spread from an open pot and the clinking of glasses are images embedded in the philosophy of Marika Mitsotakis’ life. Joys, sorrows, pain, suffering, political ambitions, great leaders, official positions, historical events, background scenes, all were masterfully mixed by her "scoop" with stuffed vine leaves, hünkar beğendi, moussaka and kaltsounia.

Five months ago, she created her own “guide book” on protothema.gr for young couples on marital and family happiness. "You must realize that it will not work without patience," she said, considering patience to be a key factor for balance, as well as for the protection of the relationship.

"You must realize that it will not work without compromises, sometimes great ones. Make them and do not talk afterwards," was her second advice. In marriage the "I" gives its place to the "we", egos move aside and compromise becomes part of everyday life so as not to disturb the family harmony, which is above and beyond everything. Dealing with situations and problems that arise in the relationship is possible when everyone has a real picture of the family microcosm. In this case, reflexes are more acute and the reaction time is definitely better. "You must know what happens within your family to see the problem in its start and to deal with it. Do not let it creep around."
 
Difficulties are a part of our life, but the way to overcome them is what ultimately determines the impact they will have within the family. A common attitude, good psychology and looking forward contribute to quickly leaving behind the things that hurt us. "Deal with difficulties that will always exist together, standing upright, decent, not whining about what happened." Just as each successful recipe must have its spices too, Marika Mitsotakis used to say, so does a marriage need affection and tenderness. "Couples should embrace each other when going to bed," said the woman who was fortunate enough to hold five great-grandchildren in her arms.