The image of the government is not merely bad – it is in bad taste.

Two top ministers – the foreign minister and the defence minister – are quarreling senselessly.

They are quarreling about a crucial national issue – the FYROM naming issue – which has intensely preoccupied parties and citizens for nearly three decades.
The two ministers set up a quarrel on an important issue. One, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, told a German newspaper that some of the Independent Greeks MPs will vote for the Greece-FYROM accord. The other, Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, told him to mind his own business.

This is a skirmish for the sake of appearances, with no essential object and with the aim, on the part of the defence minister, of saving himself and his party in the coming elections. The foreign minister’s aim is to protect the ruling majority.

This artificial quarrel does not bode well for the future. It presages nothing good as regards our national issues, which must be handled responsibly, and without petty partisan games.

They demand seriousness and not quarrels in poor taste. No national issue can be used as a life vest by one or another politician.

Then, the issue does not simply display the government’s bad taste. It is also dangerous for national interests.