The leader of Greece’s main opposition Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lacks legitimacy to sign the deal with FYROM after he ignored the Greek people and their sensitivities.
Earlier, Tsipras announced that he had reached a “good agreement” with his Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) counterpart Zoran Zaev to solve the naming dispute between the two countries.
In a televised address on Greek TV, Tsipras revealed that the name of the neighboring country will be North Macedonia (Severna Makedonija).
“Tsipras has no political legitimacy to bind the country by signing an agreement that does not have the support of his own government,” Mitsotakis said referring to the stance of the Independent Greeks — the government’s junior government partner — who earlier on Tuesday reiterated their opposition to a composite name for FYROM that would include the word ‘Macedonia’.
This has no precedent in Greek politics and constitutional history and constitutes an insult to the parliamentary system, said Mitsotakis who will meet the President of the Hellenic Republic on Wednesday.
Referring to the substance of what is known of the agreement until now, he said that the acceptance by the Greek government of “Macedonian language” and “Macedonian ethnicity” constitutes an “unacceptable national retreat.”
“The solution agreed is a bad deal. It contradicts the will of the majority of Greeks,” Mitsotakis said.
“We have to heal many wounds…We do not need to open another one, especially in Northern Greece,” he added.
Όχι σε μια κακή συμφωνία. Αποδοχή της “μακεδονικής γλώσσας” και της “μακεδονικής εθνότητας” συνιστούν μη αποδεκτή εθνική υποχώρηση. Δεν θα διχάσουμε τους Έλληνες για να ενώσουμε τους Σκοπιανούς. #Σκοπιανο https://t.co/voMbCjC51K pic.twitter.com/IHb1CGJ9qg
— Kyriakos Mitsotakis (@kmitsotakis) June 12, 2018
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