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ND must not fill role of ‘useful idiot’ on FYROM talks, vice president says

ND must not fill role of ‘useful idiot’ on FYROM talks, vice president says

New Democracy wants to see the government’s official position on the name dispute with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) before taking a stand on the issue, the vice president of Greece’s conservative opposition party, Adonis Georgiadis, has said.

“New Democracy must not fill the role of the useful idiot by getting involved [in the dispute]. This is an issue for [Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras,” Georgiadis told Skai radio.

“After government [officials] have managed to come up with a common position and after they submit it to Parliament as a majority, then we shall too take a stand,” he said.

The issue will come up at the next NATO meeting in July, Georgiadis said, adding: “Tsipras will then have to see how he will get away.”

The ND vice president also attacked Panos Kammenos, the leader of the government’s junior coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL), denouncing his purported reservations over the name as a piece of political grandstanding.

“Mr Kammenos would go as far as to back the name ‘Republic of Macedonia’ in order to stay in power,” Georgiadis said. 

 

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