All eyes in Athens on Skopje

With speculation mounting that Greece could he heading for early polls in May, the ratification or not of the name deal by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is expected to determine the hot-button issue of the election campaign.

If FYROM's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev succeeds this week in securing the majority he needs to pass the deal in his country's parliament, it will then come down to Greek lawmakers to approve the agreement in the early spring of 2019.

This scenario will render the name agreement signed between Greece and FYROM on the shores of Lake Prespes in June into the agenda-topping issue of the election - to the peril of the fragile coalition of leftist SYRIZA and the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, which has pledged not to back the deal.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his aides are reportedly keeping a close eye on ANEL...

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