Greece returns to traditional politics

Ljupco Popovski

A certain kind of a political experiment in Greece has lasted for four and a half years when voters enraged due to corruption, false economic indicators, unexpectedly facing poverty and unemployment turned to left-oriented Syriza and the party’s charismatic leader Alexis Tsipras, believing that they could create a miracle in the economically tormented nation. Last Sunday, Greeks turned back to traditional politics, believing that the party that was the biggest culprit for the economic crisis could now be transformed as a savior, and new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as the secure captain of the rocking boat.
Alexis Tsipras found out quite directly that, when in a democracy, you are at the top there is only one way to go – and that is down. Tsipras managed to move the economy that was at the very edge of the abyss, with the help of creditors he stabilized finances, reduced unemployment from 28 to 18 per cent (but it is still the highest unemployment rate in the EU); managed to bring tourists back to Greece with various measures, in figures as it has not been seen before – this year, 33 million tourists are expected; Greece returned it to the main stage in the region; Tsipras managed to make a strong supporter out the United States under Trump, especially because of Athens’ role in the Middle East events, and Washington’s inclination to the axis at has Turkey at its end and move it toward Greece. But that was not enough. The Greeks are dissatisfied with the slow recovery and require things to move faster. How can one judge the impatient citizens who are demanding a return to a peaceful and secure life, while politicians are constantly tell them to wait just a little bit longer.
In general, the defeat of Tsipras and Syriza, whose path was paved in the European elections, is the consequence of the same platform of discontent as his predecessor, Antonis Samaras – the disappointment with living standards. Tsipras built his defeat on four grounds – the failure to fulfill the promises of economic upheaval; the increase in taxes due to the demands of creditors, with which big part of the middle class was erased; the Prespa Agreement over the name of Macedonia; and the bitter memories of the tragic fire a year ago in the Athens suburbs that killed 103 people. In the month before the vote, the drama of the fire returned as the main news story with an accusation that the government failed where it was most important – in saving human lives.
No matter how dominant were the economic issues in the campaign and the perception of Greeks about the government’s work, the government took a very hard blow with the Prespa Agreement. Nationalists did not forgive Tsipras’ courage, especially those millions of voters in Northern Greece. Mitsotakis and New Democracy were consistent until the last moment against the agreement, saying it had damaged Greece’s national interests. Because of that agreement, there were dual governments in the government, because right-wing Panos Kammenos as Minister of Defense raged against the Prespa deal and cemented the perception that the state was led by a coalition with opposing opinions.
The Greeks, basically by removing Syriza from power, at least for now have put an end to an experiment that ended the rule of political dynasties from the right-wing and the left-wing. But as if they have some kind of a political dependence on them, Greeks returned to the Mitsotakis family. The son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis (who is related to famous Eleftherios Venizelos), Kyriakos, was sworn in as Greece’s new prime minister yesterday. The son of his sister Dora (former Foreign Minister), Kostas Bakoyannis, became the mayor of Athens in April.
The Macedonian public is now eagerly waiting to see what will happen to the Prespa Agreement. If judged by the statements that Kyriakos Mitsotakis has repeatedly given, there is no real danger that the new parliamentary majority in the Greek parliament will annul the agreement. Greece is a serious country, and every government knows that disregarding or annulling such an agreement, ratified in both the Macedonian and Greek parliament, would jeopardize many other agreements Athens has made in the last one hundred years. And the most important of them, the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923 with Turkey, which legalized the exchange of the population. If Athens undermines the Prespa Agreement, another country will undermine some other agreements.
One thing seems certain at this point- that the short-lived golden age in Macedonian-Greek relations has ended. Knowing the history of New Democracy, it seems unlikely that the new Greek ministers would come as often in Skopje, as those of Syriza. Zoran Zaev was supposed to go to Athens and return the visit after Tsipras’s visit to Skopje, but due to the chaos on the Greek political scene over European and national elections, the trip was postponed. Now the big question is whether Zaev will go to Athens at all, and even more so – whether Mitsotakis will ever come to Skopje.
Mitsotakis, a Harvard and Stanford graduate, is considered a liberal politician with views closer to the center. But the whole party of these elections went far to the right, taking a lot of votes from Golden Dawn. This pro-right orientation could come to light when deciding on the date for Macedonia in the European Council in October. Mitsotakis will be attending the leaders’ summit then, and there is a chance that he might support France’s deep restraint. Not to mention the many opportunities available to Athens when opening the negotiation chapters. Or in the talks between the two countries on trade marks. Simply put, more complicated times in the relations between the two countries are on their way, countries that somehow quickly became friends with mutual understanding. There are now different days of temptations on their way, in which the two countries should jointly find what connects them so as not to freeze what seemed like actual springtime between the two neighbors.