“We hope and expect that at today’s meeting of the SYRIZA Executive Council, which will be engaged in the analysis of the reasons for the defeat in the elections throughout the territory and its parliamentary lists, Mr. Tsipras and members of his party will also analyze the reasons for the victory of the candidate they have chosen to represent them in the Rhodopes, Mr. Ozgur,” New Democracy spokesman Akis Skertsos said in a statement on Saturday regarding Mr. Ozgur’s public statements.

As Mr. Schertzos mentioned, “the selection of candidates who adhere to the most radical Turkish propaganda, speak openly about the Turkish rather than the Muslim minority in Thrace, and are clearly supported by the Turkish consulate – like Mr. Zeybek, who was elected in Xanthi – raises serious questions about the criteria which SYRIZA serves as a common foreign policy and defense against Turkish revisionism.”

The ND spokesman clarified that not all minority MPs fall into this category and referred to an interview with the ND chairman Ms. Mitsotakis in the weekly newspaper Proto Thema, where the ND chairman notes that some parties should have been more careful in their choice.

In particular, Mr. Schertzos said: “The new democracy is clear: not all minority MPs fall into this category. Greece and our party stand firmly for the rights of minorities, for the equality and equal rights of all Greek citizens, regardless of religion. However, as New Democracy President Kyriakos Mitsotakis points out today in an interview with Proto Thema, “Some parties should have been much more careful in their choice.”

Source: RES-IPE