Greeks who felt betrayed by SYRIZA on the Macedonia issue, can feel betrayed again. This time by the new government conservative New Democracy. “The Prespes Agreement is good,” two ministers in Mitsotakis cabinet acknowledged.
Supporters of “Macedonia Is Greek” were already a bit shocked to hear the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had named Giorgos Mavrotas as Sports General Secretary. As a vice president of To Potami, Mavrotas had voted in favor of the Prespes Agreement.
But that was in January this year… an eternity for Greek political realities and voters with gold fish memories.
The big shock came, however, on Wednesday, when two New Democracy ministers stated that the Prespes Agreement was good and with their declarations they revealed the true ND policies on the issue.
Both ministers made their statements at the Economist Conference in Athens.
“The agreement was reach for a good purpose and has a future,” Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos declared.
“I do not deny anyone’s intent that this Agreement has been achieved for good purpose in order to strengthen stability in the region, to strengthen the geopolitical stability of the region so that there will be no reversals. My point is, with all good intentions, and I want to emphasize this, that in order for this Treaty to stand and produce positive results, both sides must stand firmly in keeping with the essential conditions. This is my position as a lawyer. If it is implemented with absolute respect for all its essential terms, then I think we can go to a better future,” Panagiotopoulos said.
In the same wave length, deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis stated that “political issues with North Macedonia were largely resolved with the Prespes Agreement.”
“I may say one thing because there is great suspicion. Τhe two people are working together for years now. There is a great flow of tourism, and there is a great flow of exchange and products and also in investments. So the political issues that we have among us that have been dealt in great part in the Prespes agreement, leave us room for more and more to do in the economy. And therefore, in order to make these moves in the economy, I think that it should be clear to everybody how the product names are given and how to defend the Greek companies that they have spent really time and money in order to invest in their title and the recognition of their products,” Varvitsiotis stated.
It is worth noting that Minister Panagiotopoulos had participated in the big anti-Prespes Agreement protest in Thessaloniki on January 22 and had made it clear that the Agreement is “miserable and it will bring plight to our country.”
New Democracy was vehemently opposing the Tsipras-Zaef deal on Macedonia name and it was also one of the slogans during the pre-election campaign.
