For weeks now, the SYRIZA government has put into action the operation “Northern Greece”.
Its prominent members visit the wider region of Macedonia, trying to mitigate the reactions of the citizens to the Prespes Agreement.
Things don’t seem to go according to plan, though… A good example is what happened yesterday to Labor Minister Efi Achtsioglou. As she talking to reporters before her speech at a party event at the “Alexandros” cinema in Thessaloniki, a young woman approached her and protested strongly in front of the cameras.
The irony is that this took place at a time when Achtsioglou was responding to a question about the fierce reactions that the Prespes Agreement had caused to so many people in Greece and especially northern Greece.
Her words were: “I do not see anything like this today. I think I’m in Thessaloniki, in the heart of Thessaloniki, and I do not see that”.
In an amazing example of what is known in social media lingo as “instant karma”, a woman intervened, shouting at the minister: “You want to see it. Macedonia is Greek, it is one and it is Greek. The betrayal will not pass. The true Macedonians will avenge, Macedonia will avenge”.
Achtsioglou tried to keep her calm, responding that “it is not a betrayal to love the countries of others”(!) while the woman continued by saying, “Shame on you! You are traitors!”. The minister entered the movie theater and the men of her security quietly removed the woman from the spot.
The Minister’s answer raises questions as nobody talks about “love” or “feelings”. The reactions are about an international agreement that deals with a national issue and a diplomatic strategy adopted by a government, aiming at achieving obscure objectives.
