ANEL MP says ejection from party would be ‘a gift’
Amid mounting political upheaval over an expected vote in Skopje this week on the Prespes name deal, which has divided the Greek coalition, an MP for the junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), Thanasis Papachristopoulos, indicated that he would not be averse to leaving the party.
Although Papachristopoulos played down the significance of his meeting with leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over the weekend in comments to ANT1 television channel, remarking that it was not secret, he conceded that he disagrees with his party's line on the Prespes name deal.
The ANEL MP said he would support the agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) when it comes to Greece's Parliament, breaking with the right-wing party's line on the issue.
He added that he, "will not contribute in any way towards the current government falling."
If he is ejected from the ranks of ANEL for supporting the name deal, he will hand over his seat, he said, noting that his dismissal would be "a gift."
Asked outright whether he would run on leftist SYRIZA's ticket in the upcoming elections, he said no such issue has been broached but did not determine how he would react in the event that such a proposal were to be made.
