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What’s Up in Greece on Dec 27?
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Very Mix
Ahhh, it’s so difficult to return to reporting after a much needed 3-day news break. Everybody here had to recover from the economic misery and the negative figures even for a while. The case of abbot Efraim from Vatopedi monastery, involved in the land swap scandal, is high on the Greek agenda. On Christmas Eve, the prosecutor issued an arrest warrant accusing Efraim of money laundering and embezzlement. However the abbot got sick with high fever and high blood sugar. He spent Christmas under provisional arrest in his Mount Athos cell and not in prison. Efraim is due to be taken into a hospital today in the northern Greece’s city of Thessaloniki. Hir arrest has divided the society, with half of it claiming he should finally go to prison and the other half – including the priest-ship to compare Efraim’s judicial adventures with those of Jesus Christ. *Jesus*
Very high on the Greek agenda are the revelation of former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz who told newspaper Birgun that the Turkish secret services were involved in arsoning Greek forests in 1995-1997 when Tansu Ciller was PM in Turkey. The Greek Foreign Ministry is due to ask official explanations form Ankara on the issue.
The political council of PASOK will hold a meeting today, first-class party officials are expected to ask former PM George Papandreou to leave the party leadership.
Papandreou had a meeting with PM Lucas Papademos today. The PSI issue and the PASOK leadership are keys to parliamentary elections in Greece. The media speak today of elections set one week after Eastern, that is on April 22nd 2012. But this is just a scenario.
Tax offices will be closed on December 29-30th 2011 due to staff’s strike. Greeks queue to fix their taxes payments but also to give back vehicles plates and the new traffic fees make it impossible for many to drive a car.
Civil servants will suffer sharp wages cuts because the new payroll will be in effect as on 1.1.12. The cuts will be on a range of €200 to €900, while tax officers will see €1,000 less in their pockets.
Big local and international fast-food chains are claimed to proceed to lay offs of 100,000 people. McDonald’s, TGI Friday’s, Goody’s, Everest, Pizza Hut etc had to experience revenues losses since the VAT increased to 23% last September.
No wonder that consumers did not spent much on Christmas shopping this year. Retailers speak of a minus 40% in revenues and describe their experience as in worst in recent decades.
The temperatures remain low, in some areas there is snow. A new bad weather front is expected on the New Year’s Eve.
PS I have to deal with a mountain of dishes and a hill of glasses today 
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