Zoltan Gyevai: Tsipras Might Break Greek Status Quo on the Macedonian Name Issue
Zoltan Gyevai, analyst for the Bruxinfo site that follows European Union developments, believes that the likely election victory by far left politician Alexis Tsipras in the early elections in Greece might help break the deadlock over the name issue.
Gyevai told MIA correspondent in Brussels that while European Union leaders are deeply worried about the rise of Tsipras and his SYRIZA coalition, it might be a bit of good news for Greek Macedonian relations, given that Tsipras is one of the few Greek politicians who has never taken part in the creation or the worsening of the name issue.
"Tsipras seems like a man who wants to break out of status quo situations. At a European level, on the issue whether Greece should remain in the Eurozone, there is much fear of Tsipras, because many believe he will be against maintaining the status quo in this area", Gyevai told MIA.
Tsipras' SYRIZA leads the polls in the anticipation of the January 25th elections, with Prime Minister Andonis Samaras warning his compatriots that Tsipras could bring economic devastation to the country in the form of a Grexit Greek exit from the Eurozone. Some even warn that Grexit could cause a cascade of events that will mean the end of the European common currency.
But, on the issue that has plagued relations between Macedonia in Greece for over two decades, Tsipras is one of the few Greek politicians who haven't exploited it for political gain.
Samaras is the nationalist Foreign Minister of the 1990ies who is widely credited with creating the issue, while both PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and his rival Social Democrat leader George Papandreou have often been implicated in the problem. All have pushed to block Macedonian EU and NATO integrations, insisting that the country must change its name before Greece lifts its veto.
"This status quo position in Greece unacceptable for Macedonia and many Macedonians. Mainstream Greek politicians don't care about the name issue. They do all they can to block Macedonian EU integration and from this point of view, a challenge to the status quo, which Tsipras might bring, could be good for Macedonia,” Gyevai believes.
This Hungarian political analyst adds that while Tsipras' popularity might not be good for Europe, it could be beneficial for Greece's relations with Macedonia.
Still, Gyevai advises caution, adding that Tsipras will probably be forced to abandon many of the positions he has now, on drastically changing the Greek approach to the financial crisis. Gyevai adds that as Tsipras hits his head against the economic wall and faces the reality, he might also take the easy approach on the Macedonian name issue and follow the path of his predecessors.
"I don't believe he will keep his promises he makes during the preelection campaign once he is in power. But, I also don't believe it will be easy for him to simply brush away what he said before. On the Macedonian name issue, I'm not sure Tsipras will be free to do what he wants, he will need to position himself according Greek popular opinion, or be asked to do so by the mainstream parties", Gyevai strikes a realistic note
