According to Government spokesman Stelios Petsas, the name of the person to be proposed as the new President of Greece will be announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis by the end of January.
Petsas made the claim during an interview on Skai.gr on Saturday, adding that the announcement will come after the tabling and voting of the new electoral law in Parliament, close to the end of January or "early February the latest." (Current President Prokopios Pavlopoulos was elected to a five-year term in March 2015.)
Main opposition party SYRIZA, led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused the Mitsotakis government of insulting the current President Prokopis Pavlopoulos by not disclosing the name since a decision has already been made.
Petsas rejected the suggestion and responded by saying "a President watching constantly the talk on names coming round and round would be, I believe, deeply insulted and weakened.”
Speaking of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to the United States and his meeting with President Donald Trump, Petsas said the purpose is to promote Greece as "the most stable and reliable US ally in our region," and to encourage investments. The close alliance of the two countries, especially after Turkish aggression, resulted in that "it may be the first time in recent years that the American stance has slightly changed from its equidistant stance between Greece and Turkey and has obviously shifted towards the Greek positions, calling the latest Turkey-Libya memorandum a provocative act."
On the EastMed pipeline agreement among Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, Petsas said it was the result of efforts by successive Greek governments, and that is important." The collaborating countries showed an understanding of the provocations initiated by another country, he stressed," and accelerated a process developed over several years."
