No compromise
…The fact that the USA has its own approach to how the various Greek-Turkish disputes should be solved, does not mean that Greece must also accept it. Greece, rather, has to demonstrate in a grounded and forceful fashion that it has no room for compromise. The support by opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis for Prime Minister Costas Simitis earlier this week was invaluable, for it underscored the existing consensus between the country’s two major parties on the Cyprus issue and the Aegean Sea dispute. Of course, any objections should be raised bearing in mind that the USA will continue to play a leading role for many years in the region of the Middle East and that the EU is still not a reliable substitute for the USA for our country to rely on… However, an absolute consensus with Washington on the terrorism issue would result in a change of certain elements which have characterized the policy of PASOK governments, as well as the disruption of some ties with the left within and outside the party. But Simitis has no other option and, in the wake of September 11, will have to remove his «democratic» facade, which is the only thing he is left with that differentiates him from the conservatives after his embracing of liberal economic principles.
