From Washington to Moscow

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is handling Panos Kammenos, the leader of junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), like the three wise monkeys, seeing no evil, hearing no evil and speaking no evil.

However, the fact is that Kammenos, who is also defense minister, is a problem for the government. Everyone knows that, notwithstanding the casual excuses put forward by leftist government and party officials, their partnership is the result of a cynical decision to grab power and hold on to it.

Even Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, the government spokesman, is finding it hard to dispel the widespread impression that the prime minister is being held to ransom by his defense minister.

During the time that the Kammenos problem was confined to home, when general elections were still a distant prospect and the "Macedonia" name dispute was not in the final...