Greece: controversial deal with the US
Last week, the Greek parliament approved a five-year agreement for the expansion of US military bases in Greece. Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras of the Syriza alliance accused the Mitsotakis government of turning the country into a 'satellite state' of the US. The Greek press is divided over the issue.
No longer angry with the Americans
Protagon stresses:
.“Greece did not turn up like a poor relative, complaining to the White House about the injustices it suffers. Athens stressed its enhanced role in the region, its importance as a pillar of peace and stability and as a gateway to the energy sources Europe is seeking. ... Over the years the bitter taste and anger over the US embracing the [Greek] junta has given way to anti-Germanism and anger over the austerity policy. This and the decisive change of course by the left-wing Syriza party, which had taken up the cause of anti-Americanism in the past, defused the tensions between the two countries that had lasted almost 40 years, since [the end of the dictatorship] in 1974”
A loyal vassal to Washington
Journalist Marios Dionellis comments in his blog on the applause Mitsotakis received in the US Congress on Tuesday:
“Do you know what it means to have a loyal subordinate in your service? Who does you all the favours, gives you military base after military base, buys planes and gas in large quantities, who remembers only the wonderful democracy you have established and not the dictatorships, coups and invasions you have unleashed? ... You have to admit it. You would have stood up ten times to applaud him if you were American.”