Resumen de The Foreign Policy of Greece's SYRIZA-ANEL Coalition Government: An Early Appraisal
The continuity in foreign policy is manifested in Cyprus, the Aegean, as well as the Eastern Mediterranean energy issues. The presence of the ANEL in the government does not appear to tip the balance towards a more nationalistic foreign policy.
While most experts expected that SYRIZA would choose a moderate coalition partner to dispel concerns about its policies at the domestic and international front, Alexis Tsipras’ coalition partner choice was the farright populist ANEL.
SYRIZA co-opted a considerable part of the nationalist left that used to comprise a substantial part of the PASOK political clientele.
Tsipras’ meeting with members of the Turkish Cypriot community was the first of a Greek prime minister aiming to communicate Greece’s willingness to support a compromise solution in Cyprus along the UNbrokered principles of a bizonal, bi-communal federation.
Greek-Turkish trade has increased exponentially over the last few years, and contacts at the academic, business and NGO level have soared in quantity as well as quality.
The EEZ question in Greek-Turkish relations was linked to the discovery of sizeable natural gas fields within the EEZ of Israel and Cyprus.
And the debate about their monetization was inevitably affected by longstanding regional conflicts.
SYRIZA ended up adding to its ranks members whose approach to minority issues was mainstream nationalistic.
The uncertain course of developments in Greece’s negotiations with its creditors remains a substantial risk factor as far as Greek foreign policy is concerned.
