Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis today asked President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to intervene so that the agreement reached with Skopje on the naming issue can be debated in parliament as soon as possible.
Mitsotakis described the agreement as “deeply problematical, not only because it is against the will of the overwhelming majority of the Greek people, because it cedes [to Skopje] the Macedonian language and Macedonian ethnicity, which is an unacceptable national retreat, but for yet another reason: Mr. Tsipras does not have the political legitimisation to sign this agreement, since his ruling coalition partner has come out clearly against the agreement”.
“We are in a situation that is unprecedented in Greek constitutional history. A prime minister, who lacks a clear parliamentary mandate, intends to bind the country and create a reality that he cannot change afterwards,” Mitsotakis said.
Pavlopoulos said that the constitution clearly delineates the competencies of the President of the Republic and of parliament on these issues, apparently implying that his authority is limited as regards the parliamentary debate on the agreement.
