Courageous leaders who did what was right

Earlier this month Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited Skopje, the capital of neighbouring North Macedonia to be welcomed by his counterpart, Zoran Zaev.

In a relaxed setting in front of Government House, the two men chatted and even posed for a selfie.

Nothing unusual about that it would seem. After all, the countries share a common border and would appear to have a great deal to offer each other.

In fact, it is the closeness of their geography that has kept the nations apart for almost three decades — a row over what many people would call semantics, but which has fired up nationalist fervour on both sides of the border.

If it had been left to their respective populations, the meeting of the Prime Ministers would never have taken place.

North Macedonia borders the Greek Province of Macedonia and ever since the break-up of Yugoslavia, of which it was a part, the Balkan country has wanted ‘Macedonia’ as its name.

‘No’ said Greeks on the other side of the border. Macedonia has always belonged to Greece and the name cannot be stolen by another sovereign state.

Such a dispute might have been settled by international arbitration, but the United Nations didn’t want to get involved and for decades there was a compromise whereupon Skopje was landed with the ridiculous name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) which pleased no one.

The dispute was having serious consequences as Greece was blocking FYROM’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. European unity was at stake and in today’s fraught international environment, there were dangers that unfriendly powers could exploit the situation.

Last year Tsipras and Zaev hammered out the compromise name of North Macedonia. Nationalists on both sides erupted in fury and a referendum in the Balkan State failed when a boycott reduced participation to below the required 50 per cent.

At that point the two men displayed a quality that is sadly lacking among leaders around the world — courage.

Tsipras forced recognition of the name through the Greek Parliament and Zaev decided that as around 90 per cent of those who did vote in the referendum were in favour of North Macedonia, he would ignore the 50 per cent requirement and declare it passed.

This led to their historic meeting earlier this month at which both hailed a new chapter in economic and political cooperation.

The two Prime Ministers know they may have to pay a political price. It is quite possible that nationalists on both sides of the border will turn on them when next they face elections.

What they did may not have been popular, but it was right — for European unity, the defence of the Western way of life, and most importantly, for the long-term prosperity of their respective peoples.

In taking the course they did they showed true leadership, something in short supply in a democratic world obsessed with the next opinion poll or focus group.