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After the Christmas holiday in Malaysia that he did not postpone despite the trial against him, former Minister Michalis Liapis continues his vacation, but this time in a much colder place. According to publications in the Greek press, he is now in Bucharest, where he is staying at a luxury hotel.

As GRReporter informed its readers, Liapis had crossed the Greek-Bulgarian border in his car a week earlier. The suggestions that he had travelled to Romania were confirmed. According to an article in Ethnos newspaper, media sources had seen the Former Minister in the five-star JW Marriott hotel in downtown Bucharest. The article states that government leaders and royal family members stay at the particular hotel when they visit the capital of Romania.

In particular, last Wednesday a Greek businessman saw Michalis Liapis having dinner in the casino restaurant of the luxury hotel, in the company of 5-6 people. Some of his table companions were Greeks and among them, there was a beautiful young Romanian woman with whom Liapis had spent his holiday in Kuala Lumpur.

The article states that this was not the first trip of Liapis to Romania. In recent years, he had frequently visited Bucharest as confirmed by Greek businessmen again. They say they had seen him with the young woman in some of the most popular restaurants in town.

According to Parapolitika newspaper, she is only 29 years old and is the daughter of a long-time ambassador of Romania in Athens. Liapis, aged 63, had fallen in love with her ​​after he had divorced his wife. He had been frequently seen in the company of the young Romanian woman, which is why many of those aware of their relationship had begun suggesting that it might have extended to marriage.

According to publications in the Greek press, the father of Liapis’ beloved one does not approve their relationship. It is worth noting that he is younger than his potential son-in-law. Karamanlis family to which Liapis belongs (his mother is the sister of former Prime Minister and later President of Greece Konstantinos Karamanlis - author’s note) is not positive about such an outcome either.

This is not the first time that the former Minister has presented himself as a Don Juan. In 2008, television cameras had "caught" him casting passionate glances at one of the members of the UNESCO Commission during a visit to the Acropolis Museum. A satirical show had found the frame and presented it accordingly.

His relations with Romania began in late 2008, shortly before the end of his tenure at the Ministry of Culture and his final exclusion from the government in January 2009. Then he visited Bucharest to open, at the National Museum of Art, an exhibition with the impressive title "From the Incarnation of the Logos to the Deification of Man." After the event, he started visiting the Romanian capital very often, leaving the impression that he was involved in real estate trade. He lived in one of the richest neighbourhoods in Bucharest, which is located near Herastrau park and lake.

The Greek media often present him with the French equivalent of his name, Michelle, because he had spent part of his youth in Paris with his uncle Konstantinos Karamanlis during his political exile there. He is also known for his preference for expensive and luxurious trips, restaurants and houses, thus obtaining the nickname "aristocrat".