Foreign policy
…Cyprus’s accession to the European Union, the resolution of the island’s longstanding political dispute and relations between Athens and Ankara are all issues which do not depend merely on Greek intent. Strong regional and international factors are directly involved in these issues and one should take into account that without a strong government on the national level, it is not possible to expect favorable solutions on the international one. Foreign policy is not exercised in a vacuum; it is rather the extension of a state’s internal strength in an international context and the results of any bargaining depend not only on the skills of any diplomatic delegation but reflect the existing balance of power. In this light, it would be extremely dangerous for Prime Minister Costas Simitis, given the domestic impasse and his failure to take specific measures aimed at dissolving the «murky landscape,» if he were to attempt to win victories in the domain of foreign policy. Nor would it make sense to look for outside support in order to keep himself in power, since he lacks the will to intervene in a decisive fashion in order to purge the country of the ill climate. For none of the Greek foreign policy issues can be traded for any one man’s political survival…
