Tsipras seeks to boost flagging support in Thessaloniki

In the wake of a fierce clash in Parliament over the contentious name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to try to boost leftist SYRIZA's flagging support in northern Greece on Friday with a speech in Thessaloniki.

The speech to party cadres and supporters has been heralded on posters declaring, "Yes to a Macedonia of democracy and solidarity," an apparent attempt to appease residents of Thessaloniki, the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia, many of whom ardently oppose the so-called Prespes deal, deeming that it could fuel irredentist ambitions in FYROM.

The Balkan country's Premier Zoran Zaev exacerbated those fears with recent references to a "Macedonian" identity and language, prompting Tsipras's coalition partner, Panos Kammenos, to declare that the deal "has died."

Meanwhile, ahead of a vote to...

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