Centre-left KINAL divided as leader rejects Athens-Skopje deal
The leader of the centre-left coalition party Movement for Change and PASOK, Fofi Gennimata, said on Thursday she will not back the deal reached between the prime ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the latter's name on Tuesday.
Gennimata argued the deal does not offer a “comprehensive solution” to the decades-old dispute despite its positive elements.
“The agreement presented by the government is a step, but does not constitute a comprehensive solution,” she said in a statement after a meeting of KINAL’s political council, which ended late on Wednesday.
“It has positive points that correspond to the context set by the Movement for Change to resolve the issue. Its implementation, however, does not depend on Greece, but mainly on the actions of the neighboring country,” she added.
However, according to information, prominent members of the party like former prime minister George Papandreou, Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis, Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis, Democratic Left leader Thanassis Theocharopoulos and PASOK MEP Nikos Androulakis said they support the agreement.
Gennimata argues she would have voted differently in the meeting if FYROM’s Constitutional revision envisioned in the official documents included adapting the ethnicity and language of the country to the new name.
She also said Greece should send the invitation letter to NATO after the procedure has been concluded, to avoid a fait accompli.
