Although Greek and local media have been focusing on the name issue in the past few days, Macedonia's constitutional name is not included in the Greek politics' official agenda, at least by the end of the year, MIA reports from Athens.
In these past few days, the Greek media, as well as parliamentary debates and the relations between the government and the opposition have been concentrated on the name dispute. However, the talks in all these different spheres do not feature the process of finding a solution to the name row, rather they focus on which SYRIZA member was a greater patriot when he used the name 'Macedonia'.
However, according to analysts, the arguments directed against each other appear insufficient to draw the Greek public's attention toward the current difficult negotiations between Athens and its international creditors and the challenges posed by the refugee crisis. The creditors' representatives are about to commence the audit of the reforms that were expected to have been executed so far, so Greece could receive financial assistance, after which the debt write-off talks should begin, which is the only way it can make progress. Greece is behind with the reforms' implementation process, and the results achieved so far are dissatisfactory.
That is why the name issue does not feature the agenda of Greece's politics now. Experts also interpreted the press release issued by the Greek government which said: "Greece's position is a name with a geographical qualifier for general use'. In short, it suggests that Athens has no intention of dealing with who said what, analysts deem.
"It seems now that all major players are putting the solution to the name issue second, given that Athens' position has already become difficult, which is due, amongst others, to the refugee crisis it is facing. Berlin shares the same perception where it is estimated that Greece already has enough open issues and it should not be brought in a difficult position to face another problem that could additionally burden the situation in the country," Kathimerini reads, citing diplomatic sources.
