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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