- By Chris Mason
- Political Editor, BBC News
Rishi Sunak’s row with Greek PM comes after meeting with Labor leader
A general election can be said to be coming when sculptures made nearly 500 years before the birth of Christ are the subject of a very public diplomatic snub in November 2023.
Rishi Sunak was due to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at lunchtime for a 45-minute meeting.
At first glance, they have many topics to discuss: Israel and Gaza; the war in Ukraine; migration.
Just weeks ago, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman visited the Greek island of Samos, before she was sacked, and said the UK had ‘a lot to learn’ of the country in the fight against illegal immigration.
But now let’s talk about heritage. An argument about culture.
A quarrel over what is British and what belongs in Britain – and what does not.
Mr. Mitsotakis had indicated that he would use the meeting to request the return of the Parthenon sculptures – or Elgin Marbles – from the British Museum in Athens.
Sir Keir Starmer met the Greek Prime Minister on Monday.
The meeting itself is likely to annoy some members of the government: foreign prime ministers meeting opposition leaders are rarely well received by their real counterparts.
And with Labor consistently ahead in opinion polls, meetings like this are likely to become more frequent.
Labor said Mr Sunak’s decision to cancel his meeting with the Greek prime minister was “pathetic”.
But at the heart of this diplomatic row is a very domestic political dispute over a difference in instincts between the Conservatives and Labor over the future of the marbles.
Sir Keir would not object to a temporary loan of the sculptures to Greece if this was agreed to by the British Museum and Athens.
Such an agreement does not require a change in the law and could take months to reach.
Conservatives oppose it, saying it would be unwise. They fear the sculptures will never be returned.
The Greek Prime Minister is baffled and annoyed at being stood up.
He suggested to Greek journalists traveling with him that Mr Sunak was a coward.
“Anyone who believes in the validity and fairness of their positions is never afraid of confrontation,” he said.
Having been rejected by Mr Sunak, the Greek leader was offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.
But, I understand, an earlier meeting with the return plane was deemed more attractive.
