Potami MP accuses gov’t of exploiting Prespes deal
To Potami lawmaker George Mavrotas on Tuesday suggested that the leftist government was using the Prespes deal to extract support in a confidence vote set for Wednesday.
Speaking in Parliament Tuesday, Mavrotas repeated the centrist party’s support for the name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) but accused the government as well as the main conservative opposition of exploiting the agreement for reasons of political expediency.
“In the beginning, the government utilized the deal to divide the opposition. Then [the deal] was utilized by the opposition in a bid to protect its unity,” Mavrotas said.
“Arguments [for and against the deal] were lost amid the anathemas. Dialogue was lost amid the bullying. Typical black-and-white Greece,” he said.
It was however not certain how Potami MPs would vote on Wednesday.
“Our view of the Prespes deal has not changed. What has changed is the political context in which it comes. Does this change our stance? I believe that the national interest should come first,” Mavrotas said.