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ND leader says Tsipras is ‘hostage’ to coalition with Kammenos

ND leader says Tsipras is ‘hostage’ to coalition with Kammenos

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday for siding with his coalition partner and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, following the resignation of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.

“A few days ago I had described the government of Tsipras and Kammenos as a cynical power cooperative. I'm afraid today's developments have completely vindicated me,” he said as he arrived for a meeting of the European People's Party in Brussels.

Mitsotakis pointed out that Tsipras said he would not tolerate two-faced behavior on the issue of the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), yet he expelled Kotzias who is the strongest supporter of the Prespes accord and kept Kammenos, who has openly opposed it.

“It's perfectly clear that Mr Tsipras is not just a weak prime minister, he is a hostage [to his alliance with ANEL]. The sooner this farce ends, the better it will be for the country,” he added.

The same view was echoed by Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis who said Tsipras “is a hostage to his defense minister, who has become a powerful government vice-president,” noting that Tsipras' “prime concern is not to displease his partner.”

Movement for Change chief Fofi Gennimata said the prime minister is “walking toward the cliff hand-in-hand with Mr Kammenos,” and that the foreign minister's resignation “confirms the crisis that is smoldering in the government partnership.

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