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Speaking to supporters in Egio yesterday, Mr. Karamanlis said that the three leading New Democracy deputies expelled from the party last Tuesday had "provided the government with alibis".
"Today, the time of big decisions has come, and this presupposes a clear definition of the things we want to do, clear policy, unity and cohesion," Mr. Karamanlis told his audience.
"We are not dependent on vested interests and for this reason we will be uncompromising... it is inconceivable and unacceptable to have people among us who are providing with alibis and support a government which is collapsing and does harm to the country," he added.
The three deputies were expelled from the party for failing to toe the party line against a government provision changing relations between workers and management at state-run public utilities.
The amendment was approved early on Tuesday by a vote of 141 to 121. A total of 35 deputies - from both opposition and ruling party - absented themselves from the vote. One of the three, George Souflias, is a former national economy minister and had run unsuccessfully against Mr. Karamanlis for the party leadership at ND's Congress last March.
The other two, former ministers Stephanos Manos and Vassilis Kontoyannopoulos had also supported Mr. Souflias' run for ND leader, as had another three ND deputies suspended for a year.
The fall-out from the expulsions and suspensions dominated the weekend's news, with Dora Bakoyianni, another former minister, breaking her silence and criticizing Mr. Karamanlis' move against the dissenters.
Ms Bakoyianni, the daughter of former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis, whose failure to vote with the party on the provision was "excused" by Mr. Karamanlis, said that she would propose initiatives to ensure the unity of the party.
She assured Mr. Karamanlis that nobody questioned his position as leader of the main opposition party.
In an interview published in Sunday's Eleftherotypia, Mr. Karamanlis said he would not hesitate to expel others from the party and that he "could not occupy a chair that was continually being shaken".
Mr. Souflias, meanwhile, told To Vima, that changes on the political stage were in the pipeline but that it was too early to talk about a new party. He said his aim was to "revive the liberal movement" in Greece.
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