Opinion

Ι said many times on this blog that the surrealism we have been living in this country for the last two years resembles the one we used to love on the Monty Python series. I can understand the government’s efforts to turn black into white but the absurdity of statements …

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The pandemic as a chance. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is an optimist person who always sees the bright side of life against all odds including some thousands of deaths. For example, late on Thursday and in an interview with ANT1 TV, the 53-year-old leader responded to the question “-We …

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How many friends are you supposed to have as a person? Five? Ten? Fifty? Greece’s Health Ministry believes to know better. “If authorities tally up  more people than taking into consideration at the New Year’s Eve party, they will fine you,” TV channels report with emphasis on Thursday citing sources …

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Hardly had the Greek Health Minister announced New Year’s Eve celebrations without music and closure of food service facilities at 2 a.m. and a tsunami of cancellations struck restaurants, bars and entertainment venues. “We’re done. We close,” unionists of the sector told state-broadcaster ERT three hours after the announcement stressing …

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I can’t imagine the festive season without two of my favorite things: A Christmas tree and my favorite film of all times: A Christmas Carol. Year in, year out, I have to drop what I’m going and watch at least one version of Scrooge the the Ghosts. I love to …

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With the gender-based violence and femicide on the rise in Greece, there are many voices calling for the urgent need for education and self-criticism of the society, the dismantling of stereotypes and no tolerance against such crimes. And there come the conservative misogynists in the mainstream media trying to acquit …

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An interesting phenomenon even if despicable has been observed in the heinous crime where a 32-year-old pilot killed his 20-year-old wife Caroline Crouch and was trying to cover up the murder for 37 days, misleading the police, the media and the shocked Greek society. The “interesting” phenomenon is that some …

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“Welcome, nice to see you again, how are you doing?” said the young man as he arranged a table and two chairs at safety distance from the other customers. “How was the winter?” I asked and I knew the answer before  he replied “tough!” We winked with the eyes, looked …

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The long Greek Easter weekend was extended to Tuesday because the Labor Day on May 1 was moved to today. May Day is a strike day with shops and even supermarkets closed and this was impossible on Easter Saturday. Media are also on strike and in this sense the flow …

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As Greece celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Independence War against the Ottoman occupation in 1821, here is an approach by Stavros Papagianneas, communicator in Brussels. A Romantic Revolution I was born in Athens, and I love the city. It has a special vibe, an outgoing feeling, due to the …

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It could have been been a relaxed day with a bit of posting about the traditional Greek Meat Barbecue Feast Tsiknopempti in the morning and plates with grilled meat, chops, sausages, meatballs – plus mountains of salad – from noon onward. The BBQ smell would arise from the balconies in …

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Yes, this Christmas is “different.” To start with, for the first time since ever, there was no smiling, bold or shy child at my door step singing the Christmas carols. Blame the lockdown and the pandemic. And I must confess: this morning in deafening silence spoiled the whole mood for …

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“Pavlo, you did it, my son, you did it, my son, my son!” With tears in her eyes, face and arms towards the sky, a figure from an ancient Greek tragedy, Magda Fyssa screams minutes after the appeals Court in Athens ruled that the neo-nazi party of Golden Dawn is …

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Questions arise as Greece’s Citizens Protection Minister has vowed to empty the island of Lesvos of all refugees by Easter.One main question is, of course, that if all 12,000 refugees leave in the next 6 months, why does Greece build a permanent camp on the island, expected to be in …

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Schools throughout Greece opened on Monday in completely different conditions than all previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic: face masks for students and teachers, antiseptics and social distancing where possible. The rules from the Education Ministry are clear: no pupil will be allowed in the class-room without a face …

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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned that “the slightest spark in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea region could cause a disaster” and called for “an immediate end to all provocations in the area.” We suppose that Maas was addressing Turkey without mentioning it by name, and not Greece, while he was …

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Turkey has proposed a dialogue with Greece to solve bilateral issues. At the same time, it threatens with a hot pursuit should Athens try to prevent Turkey’s planned drilling for hydrocarbon south of the island of Crete No one will dare stopping our drilling. These are our sovereign rights that …

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Greek authorities are concerned about Greeks infected with coronavirus who return to the country from abroad, and most important, they break the imposed quarantine and spread the virus to locals. But it’s not only the Greeks from abroad who don’t observe what they should. It is also the local youngsters …

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Naousa in North Greece 2019: A man in an ancient Greek warrior costume is waiting together with other compatriots on a semi-dark street in the middle of the night. His compatriots are normally dressed given the weather circumstances. What are they waiting for? A rumor spread via Facebook claimed that …

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“All I want is that they sod off! I feel betrayed as a Greek!” a friend Alex told me the other day about when we chat about the upcoming elections on Sunday. “For the first time in my life I will vote of new Democracy,” say my friend who always …

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