by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A lawmaker of the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, the junior partner in the two-party ruling coalition in Greece, turned independent on Tuesday over the Macedonia name deal.
In a press statement, Yorgos Lazaridis announced his decision, which would diminish the government majority in the 300-member parliament shrinking to 152 MPs.
"In the founding declaration of ANEL, we had expressed our objection to any use of the term Macedonia by our neighbors," Lazaridis wrote.
Lazaridis is the second MP the party lost in one month. Another deputy was ousted when he voted against party line in the no-confidence tabled by the main opposition on June 16, a day before the signing of the agreement between the governments of Athens and Skopje.
Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) sealed the name deal, putting an end to the dispute which started in 1991 over the use of the name Macedonia.
According to the preliminary accord signed by the two countries' foreign ministers, they agreed to rename the Balkan nation "The Republic of North Macedonia," despite strong protests over the agreement from both sides.
Ratification in both parliaments and a referendum at FYROM most likely to be held in September are needed for the implementation of the deal, which however still meets reactions from both sides.
