Syriza-Independent Greeks coalitions headed toward amicable divorce?

After a series of differences, small and large, between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his junior coalition partner, Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos, mostly on national issues, there is mounting speculation that the two coalition partners will proceed with a “velvet divorce”.

If that happens, the expectation is that Kammenos and other government ministers from the Independent Greeks party will pull out of the cabinet, and that the party will continue to support Syriza in parliament, with the exception of a possible vote on a naming deal with FYROM.

The vote on a prospective Greece- FYROM deal, which some say may be tabled in parliament by Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias as early as the end of this month, would then be the pretext for Kammenos and his party pulling out of the government.

A vital marriage of convenience

The three-year collaboration between the two ideologically opposite parties has been remarkably smooth, in large measures because it allowed the Syriza government’s rule to be the longest of the eight-year crisis, even though on its own it lacks a parliamentary majority, while allowing the small right-wing party to enjoy the perks of power.

Despite vicissitudes in the coalition parties’ relations along the way, the recent uproar over PAOK F.C. owner Ivan Savvidis storming onto the pitch of his team’s stadium last Sunday, with his gun in a holster, rocked Greek football to its foundations and appears to be the straw that broke the camel’s back in the Tsipras-Kammenos relationship.

The Independent Greeks leader reputedly maintained close ties with the Pontian Greek-Russian tobacco tycoon, whom he allegedly drew closer to the government.

Plunge in Independent Greeks’ popularity

Yet, a prospective Independent Greek’s pullout from the government is also a move of self-preservation, as the right-wing party has seen its base of support decimated, both because of the wear of governance and due to the erratic behaviour of its leader.

The party garnered 1.5 percent in the latest Pulse poll, half of the three percentage points necessary to cross the threshold for entering parliament.

That may explain why some Independent Greek and Syriza MPs are unleashing nearly daily, withering attacks on each other, and on their parties’ policies.

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