Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06NICOSIA235
2006-02-17 10:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nicosia
Cable title:  

GREEK CYPRIOTS OFFER DORA BAKOYIANNI A LUKEWARM

Tags:  PGOV PREL CY GR 
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5570
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4536
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS PRIORITY 3496
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1130
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0460
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000235 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL CY GR
SUBJECT: GREEK CYPRIOTS OFFER DORA BAKOYIANNI A LUKEWARM
(AT BEST) RECEPTION AS NEW GREEK FM


Classified By: Ambassador Ronald L. Schlicher; Reason
1.4 (B) AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000235

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL CY GR
SUBJECT: GREEK CYPRIOTS OFFER DORA BAKOYIANNI A LUKEWARM
(AT BEST) RECEPTION AS NEW GREEK FM


Classified By: Ambassador Ronald L. Schlicher; Reason
1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: The Greek Cypriot reaction -- both official
and unofficial -- to the appointment of Dora Bakoyianni as
Greek Foreign Minister was noticeably cool and reserved.
Bakoyianni has the reputation here for being both
pro-American and soft on the Cyprus issue. Only the
right-wing, pro-Annan Plan DISY was effusive in its praise
for the appointment, and DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades was
one of the first Greek Cypriot heavy-weights to call
Bakoyiannis to congratulate her. The other large parties --
DIKO, AKEL and EDEK -- were noticeably quiet. The smaller,
nationalist parties issued statements critical of the
appointment and expressed consternation at Bakoyianni's
support for the Annan Plan prior to the April 2004 referenda.
Official reaction has been relatively muted. Government
spokesman George Lillikas stressed the GOC's hope that
cooperation between the two countries would continue "on the
basis of our mutually agreed policy on the Cyprus issue."
The pro-government Greek Cypriot media expressed concern that
Bakoyianni's appointment threatened to undercut the efforts
of President Papadopoulos and former Greek FM Molyviatis to
reverse the negative international climate that followed the
Greek Cypriot rejection of the plan. Opposition newspapers
welcomed Bakoyianni's appointment as an opportunity to break
the current logjam on the Cyprus issue. Our contacts in the
government have generally adopted a restrained, wait-and-see
attitude towards the appointment. Privately, however, DISY
leaders are finding it difficult to contain their glee. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) While not unexpected,
the appointment of Dora Bakoyianni as Foreign Minister of
Greece sparked some concern among Greek Cypriots about
possible friction between Athens and Nicosia over the Cyprus
issue. Bakoyianni and her father Constantinos Mitsotakis are
seen here as largely pro-American, soft on Turkey and
pro-Annan Plan. The small nationalist parties and the
far-right press were the most negative about the appointment.
The European Party criticized Bakoyianni's support for the

Annan Plan, adding that if the new Greek FM were "to adopt
the views of (UK FM) Straw and the Americans, her appointment
would be a very negative development for Cyprus." The
right-wing Simerini, which has begun to criticize the
government for being "too soft" on the Cyprus issue, warned
that Bakoyianni's appointment signaled a major shift in Greek
policy towards the Cyprus issue. The paper predicted that
Bakoyianni would work to improve relations with Turkey at
Cyprus' expense and highlighted her father's past criticism
of Tassos Papadopoulos.


3. (C) While taking pains not to sound any alarm bells, the
GOC's official position was noticeably cool towards the
Bakoyianni appointment. GOC spokesman Lillikas stressed the
government's hope and expectation that cooperation between
the two countries would continue "on the basis of our
mutually agreed policy on the Cyprus issue." Greek Cypriot
commentators across the political spectrum have understood
this as a clear warning to Bakoyianni not to rock the boat on
the Cyprus issue. Cypriot officials at the MFA are shrugging
off the appointment, which they see as having little bearing
on Greece's approach to the Cyprus issue. Greek Embassy
Political Chief Kostas Kollias told us that GOC officials had
been careful but "correct" in discussing Bakoyianni. Kollias
did not anticipate any major friction or any kind of public
falling-out between Athens and Nicosia over Cyprus policy.



4. (C) The large parties in government -- AKEL, DIKO and EDEK
-- have been restrained in their public comments. AKEL
General Secretary Christofias stressed that his party would
"cooperate with Bakoyianni" in an effort to promote the
common interests of Greece and Cyprus. Privately, AKEL's
number two, Nicos Katsourides, told us that he was
unconcerned about Bakoyianni's appointment. "No Greek
politician can afford a falling out with us," he explained.
"She will eventually have to make a pilgrimage here, and she
will have to say all of the right things. Otherwise, she
will pay the price back home." DIKO deputy Zacharias
Koulias, meanwhile, told Radio Proto that the appointment
risked destroying Papadopoulos's and former Greek FM
Molyviatis's "tireless but successful" (sic) efforts to
reverse negative international opinion of Greek Cypriots
after the referendum, as well as their efforts to pursue a
"European solution" to the Cyprus problem.


5. (C) In sharp contrast, the pro-settlement opposition DISY
party has had a hard time disguising its glee at Bakoyianni's
appointment. DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades was among the
first to call Bakoyianni to congratulate her. DISY Deputy
Leader Averof Neophytou told us that the elevation of
Bakoyianni to the FM job was a slap at Tassos Papadopoulos
and an opportunity for DISY to reassert its position as the
natural ally of the current Greek government. Echoing this
same theme, the pro-DISY Alithia newspaper wrote that Greece
was replacing Molyviatis's conservative foreign policy with a
more pro-active policy that seeks to engage Turkey and the
EU. Evidence of this, it said, was the GOG's effort to
distance itself from Papadopoulos's fiery reaction to British
FM Jack Straw's visit to Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali
Talat in his office. An op-ed in Alithia called on Greece to
look beyond the "rejectionist policy of Papadopoulos," and to
join with Cyprus in taking advantage of international
interest to break the current stalemate.


6. (C) COMMENT: Bakoyianni's appointment hardly came as a
surprise to the Greek Cypriot political elite, but there is
real concern here that her position on the Cyprus issue will
be less accommodating of GOC sensitivities than that of her
predecessor. Strong support from Athens is taken as a given
by the Greek Cypriot public, and we expect the GOC to take
great pains to paper over any differences that might raise
the specter of Greece's distancing itself from Cyprus. This
is particularly true in the pre-election period. Iacovou
will likely go to Athens early on and will work hard to
ensure that the visit is seen as confirming a continuation of
the policy of "Cyprus decides; Greece supports." End
comment.
SCHLICHER