Editorial: Friends and enemies

Aside from the domestic political scene in the American superpower, the US mid-term elections have international repercussions.

The Democrats’ victory does not only palpably cut Donald Trump and the populist current that he represents down to size.

It gives the Democrats an opportunity to reorganise and ensure that the rest of President Joe Biden’s term is secure, within an indisputable framework.

The outcome of the elections also affects issues pertaining to Greece, and especially Greek-Turkish relations, at a time that Ankara is ratcheting up tensions.

Based on the result, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can find no new allies in the US, and Greece’s positions will acquire new, stable voices of support.

Now, more than ever, an important element of successful diplomacy is how many friends and enemies you have in foreign countries, and all the more so in a superpower such as the US, which has a constant and stable interest in our region.

That does not negate the need for Greece to vibrantly activate all its weapons against Turkish revisionism and the further arming of its trouble-making neighbour.

We must not be complacent and rely on the “kindness of strangers [foreigners]”, but instead we must mobilise all our alliances and actions.

It is not inconsequential that the US is emerging from the midterm elections without political upsets.

It is no small thing, for example, that US Senator Bob Menendez (photo), who has steadfastly backed Greece’s positions, remains Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.