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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Greece elections: Why ND will win with a simple campaign strategy
“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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Op-Ed: European elections in Greece shrink into a Tsirpas-Mitsotakis duel
There is little about Europe in the election campaigns of the Greek political parties. A week before the elections on May 26, the agenda has been limited into a duel between prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his potential successor Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of conservative New Democracy. Smaller parties like KINAL/PASOK …
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“Primary surpluses are too high,” says Moscovici, blames IMF, Greek gov’t
EU Commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, surprised Greeks when when he said that some of the primary surpluses demanded from the country were “too high.” The Commissioner for EU financial Affairs was addressing members of the Greek Parliament on Thursday when he said that some of the primary surpluses demanded from the …
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Pressure for reforms? Merkel to visit Greece with wrong agenda in her luggage
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel will urge Greece to press on with tough economic reforms and maintain strict fiscal discipline when she visits Athens on Thursday for the first time in nearly five years,” reuters reports a day before she arrives in Athens. Moreover, Merkel will encourage Greek politicians to support …
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Populist Alliance has EU leadership paralyzed in its Brussels bubble
Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and French populist Marie LePen met in Rome on Monday to seal a unholy alliance: they declared that they are the anti-establishment movement within the European Union. Salvini slammed the European Union for budget restrictions and austerity, the migration crisis as well as …
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ECB confirms the Greek austerity program was just an experiment with lab rats
The bitter remedy Greece’s creditors prescribed to millions of Greeks during the economic crisis was the wrong medicine. Massive spending cuts and strictest austerity in order to get fresh loans and help from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism were based on miscalculations. …
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The more Turkey is economically cornered, the ruder its “diplomacy” becomes
The inauguration of the renovated Greek Consulate in the coastal city of Izmir was anything but a well prepared show by Turkey to challenge Greece. Not only did they stage a “show of power” with Turkish aircraft; the chief of Turkish diplomacy dared challenged Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias who …
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What will happen if Greece abolishes the pension cuts despite creditors objections?
Greece insists that the austerity measure to further pension cuts as of 1. January 2019 is not necessary. Creditors try to avoid commenting on that, although the usual “Euro Sources Anonymous” claim that the euro finance ministers are against abolishing of the measure. “Greece’s budget 2019 will not include pension …
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Lost in hypocrisy: Greece’s lenders celebrate end of bailout programs
A historic day. The end of bailout program. The begin an new era. Lenders celebrate the “great news.”The Greek government cheers. Greece ‘s creditors and and the country’s government congratulate each other. Internationale media are in euphoria. A success story with happy end. You did it! Congratulations to Greece and its …
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When Greek political parties try to achieve gains from the tragedy in Athens wildfires
Nine days after the wildfires in Athens government and opposition are exchanging harsh words about who is to blame for the worst fire tragedy in modern history of Greece. The political opposition attacks the government and blames it for not timely response, for grave mistakes in the crisis management, for …
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Athens wildfires: No apology, no resignation and “no mistakes”?
It was all fine during the press conference on the Athens wildfires late on Thursday evening. Alternate Minister for Civil Protection, the chief of the Fire Service and the Greek Police, the CEO of the Greek Space Agency and the government spokesman sat next to each other in front of …
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Referendum 5. July 2015: The day Greeks lost their innocence
5. July 2015 – The day when Greeks lost their innocence. On this Sunday on 5. July 2015, Greeks are called to the ballot boxes. They have to decide whether they accept the agreement imposed by the country’s European creditors. They have to tick just YES or NO. The referendum …
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Merkel in self-pity claims she was “victim” of austerity policies in the Euro zone
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the harsh austerity policies implemented in the debt-ridden countries of the euro zone claiming she did “the right thing.” She even presented herself as a “victim”, complaining about being target of insults in Greece and Portugal. In a self-righteous and self-pity performance, she insulted the …
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Op-ed: Hailing the mob attack on Boutaris is equally despicable and outrageous as the attack itself
The attack on Mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris has shocked the democratic world in Greece and abroad. Equally shocking has been the hate speech and incitement to violence by an -unfortunately- large portion of Greeks on social media. And not only. Several diaspora Greeks, poured their poison against Boutaris on …
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Merkel welcomes FYROM’s Zaev as “Macedonian Prime Minister”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed FYROM’s Zoran Zaev as “the Macedonian” Prime Minister. Did she think that Zaev’s full name was Zaevopoulos, that Greece was a federal republic and Macedonia a federal state in Northern Greece? No. She did it on purpose, she welcomed Zaev as “Macedonia Prime Minister” at …
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Mikis Theodorakis speaks of “left-wing fascism” and gets new surreal friends
The Macedonia protest on Sunday showed the real surrealism in a deeply-divided and often ignorant Greek society. There was the clergy that did whatever it could to destroy the ancient Greek world and religion defending Alexander the Great. There was the once legendary hero of the Greek Left Mikis Theodorakis …
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Atheist Tsipras allies with the Church of Greece over the “Macedonia” issue
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has set his priorities given the circumstances of pressure: the Church before the Politics. Thursday evening, the atheist prime minister rushed to a dinner with Archbishop Ieronymos II and briefed him on the latest developments on the Macedonia name dispute and the meetings of Special UN …
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Ghost of Christmas Present: PPC cuts power to mother of four
Ignorance? Want? Ugly, mean and greedy little creatures? That was in mid-Victorian England and in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In the novel that has touched millions people ever since it was first published in 1843, ‘the two emaciated children” grow up to be adults, Ignorance as adult man in …
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Greece finally abandons defeatist policy and tells Erdogan how the wind blows
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was self-confident and determined when he went on board of the airplane for an official visit to Greece. The first visit of a Turkish president to Athens after 65 years was supposed to be historical and groundbreaking for the bilateral relations. But Erdogan got the …
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