Mitsotakis pledges to dampen fallout from name deal if elected
Main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis Monday pledged to dampen the fallout from a controversial name deal between Greece and North Macedonia should his New Democracy party win elections later this year.
In an interview with Alpha TV, Mitsotakis accused leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of making unacceptable concessions on the issues of language and identity.
“I am still waiting for Tsipras and his deputies to explain this in northern Greece,” he said.
“I will do everything in my power to ease the negative repercussions of the deal,” he said, adding he will take steps to safeguard Greek products by getting European trademark protection. He added that the inauguration of the new Vergina Museum later this year will be an opportunity “to showcase the grandeur of Macedonian civilization.”
In the same interview, the conservative chief said Tsipras was too afraid to call an early election, adding that his objective in next month’s European Parliament election is to achieve “a clean victory.”
“On the night of May 26 I want there to be no doubt about who is the big winner and who is the big loser. Tsipras does not have the courage to hold a national election [now] because he knows he will lose it. Now he will simply lose in two installments.”
