DOCSLIB.ORG

Athens News Agency 5.05.14

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Athens News Agency 5.05.14 Monday, 5 May 2014 Issue No: 4648 PM Samaras: Greece is breaking its chains with the past Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said in an article published in Sunday’s edition “To Vima” newspaper that a new Greece is emerging by breaking its "shell" and its chains with the past. The premier refers to inherent problems of the past which kept Greece back to “old-fashioned mentalities and distortions, which maintained a false growth on borrowed money,” adding that a “shell” had been obstructing the country to move forward. ”This shell is now breaking. And the country and people’s great abilities are being released,” the premier stresses, launching an attack on those forces which, as he puts it, are still fiercely resisting because they do not want Greece to move ahead to the future. Samaras said that the main opposition SYRIZA party wanted Greece to return to the crisis that is now being left behind, and to see the country in an instable condition, internationally isolated and divided. The premier charged SYRIZA of making efforts to exert ideological terrorism and divide the society, as “they are trying to ethically castigate as ‘extreme right’ or ‘neo-liberal’ all views which are opposed to theirs.” NERIT broadcaster starting programme as of 18:00 on Sunday The New Greek Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT) broadcaster started its programme as of 18:00 on Sunday with a new news bulletin, a Greek and a foreign film and a sports programme. According to NERIT's president, about 11 months after the closure of the ERT broadcaster and the transitional Public Television channel the countdown will begin shortly before 18:00 with a "modest ceremony". Shipping Minister Varvitsiotis inaugurates President Papoulias visits CERN installations in Mediterranean Yacht Show Geneva President Karolos Papoulias visited the installations of the Shipping Minister Miltiades Varvitsiotis, inaugurating the 1st European Nuclear Research Organisation (CERN) in Geneva on international Mediterranean Yacht Show exhibition on Saturday. President Papoulias was given a guided tour of the Saturday evening, said that "our country's sea tourism begins underground ATLAS research premises from Nafplio". and met with the Greek scientists comprising CERN's The minister said in his address, among other Greek Research Group. things, that the government has specific President Papoulias said "as you know, Greece is a logics and targets against the misery of the founder member of CERN since 1954 with the poor economic means that it has, but with the rich human crisis, with which it aspires that we shall potential. This moved me being a Greek, to be seeing the overcome it and one of the main targets is the potential that my country has. And I think that at some development of sea tourism. moment we shall be bringing this potential within the The event was attended, among others, by Environment walls as well". Minister Yiannis Maniatis, Deputy Culture Minister Yiannis He further stressed that "Europe is showing its potential, its Andrianos, Nafplio mayor Dimitris Kostouros and Greek Sea scientific potential. It can compete with whatever great power, it Tourism Federation president Mihalis Skoulikidis. is a great power and it must contribute to global developments and in the scientific sector in particular, where it has great potential". 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: ANTONIS SKYLLAKOS Monday, 5 May 2014 Politics he shall secure what he wants in the Euroelections, government stability. He further said that the government does not exist in absentia of Deputy FM to attend Council of Europe meeting the people and was elected in 2012 when all the issues were in Vienna known to all, unlike 2009. Lastly, he pointed out that if the people want to be in danger, Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas is scheduled to the government will be in danger, while stressing that at some participate in the meeting of the committee of ministers of the time burdens must be distributed fairly between the political Council of Europe in Vienna, Monday and Tuesday, forces. representing under the Greek Presidency the EU High Representative for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy PASOK leader Venizelos terms May 25 elections Catherine Ashton. 'Easter' On the sidelines of the meeting, which coincides with the 65th Government Vice President, Foreign Minister and PASOK anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Europe, party leader Evangelos Venizelos sent a clear message from the Kourkoulas will be having a series of bilateral contacts. The city of Lamia to those bringing about scenarios for the election main theme of the meeting, held under the presidency of night, terming the May 25 elections "Easter". Austria to the CoE this semester and expected to be attended by "They want PASOK to be ruined, ELIA to be ruined, the 30 foreign ministers of the 47 member states, will be "Council government to fall, the country to be led to early elections of Europe values and stability in Europe: Current challenges.” without strategy, without an aim, because some wish to doubt The meeting will be chaired by Sebastian Kurz, Minister for me", he stressed. Foreign Affairs of Austria and Chairman of the Committee of Venizelos also underlined repeatedly that "PASOK is present, it Ministers, who said that talks will focus primarily on the is fighting and struggling for the country and not for the cadres situation in the Ukraine and the potential to deescalate tensions and for himself". in the country’s east, as well as on human rights in Europe. Also referring to the Euroelections, Venizelos determined the May 25 result as a "denial of the attack strategy". Administrative Reform minister proposes next Parliament to have 200 deputies Venizelos says May 25 election result must not be subject to ambiguous readings Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking Government Vice President, Foreign Minister and PASOK in an interview with the newspaper "Realnews", proposed that party leader Evangelos Venizelos, speaking in an interview in the next Parliament the number of deputies be reduced to 200 with the newspaper "Ta Nea", stressed that "if one believes that from 300 that they are today. government stability must not be upset, if one believes that the "Years ago, when the entire political system whistled with country is a step before the completion of the effort and the exit indifference, I had submitted a series of proposals for from the memorandum and the crisis, he must support the immediate implementation that do not require constitutional progressive pole that is very specific, that is being expressed in revision, with the main one being the reduction of deputies Parliament with PASOK's Parliamentary Group and of Elia from 300 to 200. It is something that can take place now with more widely". the change in the election law with a 2/3 maJority from the He also criticised the main opposition Radical Left Coalition present Parliament". (SYRIZA) and other opposition parties, saying that "those who Mitsotakis links, however, the reduction of deputies with both are supposedly 'anti-memorandum' are those who are lashing the change in the election law on the pattern of the German out in favour of the memorandum now, because they have model and legislation on the parties' operation. nothing to say, they have nothing to propose" and are "losing their political bread". Referring to SYRIZA and the opposition in general, Venizelos Venizelos says government stability problem if said that because on the night of the May 25 elections they will PASOK falls below 10 pct attempt to make a combined interpretation of the result "with the aim of undermining the government and national policy" for Government Vice President, Foreign Minister and PASOK this reason "a result is necessary that will not be subJect to party leader Evangelos Venizelos, speaking in an interview ambiguous readings and not cast into doubt government with Mega television channel and replying to a question on stability as a basic precondition for the completion of the great what it will mean if PASOK falls below 10 percent in the national target that is the country's exit from the crisis and the Euroelections, said that what is important is what it will mean memorandum and the return to the normalcy of a self- for the country, clarifying that in this case there shall be a sufficient, in essence equal member-state of the European problem of government stability and government orientation. Union and of the eurozone". Venizelos, also replying to a question regarding opinion polls published on Sunday and showing once again that the Greeks do not want early elections, said that the citizen must think how 2 Monday, 5 May 2014 SYRIZA’s Skourletis comments on PM The spokesman said that Tsipras drifted to characterize neo- Nazis all European Union leaders who met with the new prime Samaras’s interview minister of the Ukraine in Brussels. Commenting on Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s interview with Sunday’s To Vima newspaper, main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) press spokesman Panos Skourletis said in a press release that “Mr. Samaras, the man tasked with completing the work of previous pro-bailout memorandum governments by snatching the Greek people’s vote, is now being unmasked as he maintains that for him stability means preserving the memorandum and extreme austerity policies.” Skourletis added that “the time of Judgment is approaching and it will be damnatory to Mr. Samaras and his policy, a policy that is against to a redistribution in favour of the weak and catapults Joblessness, a policy that robbed social security funds and closed down small- and medium-sized enterprises…” Gov’t spokesman’s reply “We are not going to ask SYRIZA for a certificate of modesty," said the government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou in reply to Skourletis’ comment on the article by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in “To Vima” newspaper.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Antiquity, Archaeology, and National Imagination in Greece
    CLASSICAL PRESENCES General Editors Lorna Hardwick James I. Porter CLASSICAL PRESENCES The texts, ideas, images, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome have always been crucial to attempts to appropriate the past in order to authenticate the present. They underlie the mapping of change and the assertion and challenging of values and identities, old and new. Classical Presences brings the latest scholarship to bear on the contexts, theory, and practice of such use, and abuse, of the classical past. The Nation and its Ruins: Antiquity, Archaeology, and National Imagination in Greece YANNIS HAMILAKIS 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Yannis Hamilakis 2007 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization.
    [Show full text]
  • Informe Itiae Bride Democracia U Comunicación Prensa Obrera U Sindical Agencias Noticiosas
    www.flacsoandes.edu.ec REVISTA LATINOAMERICANA DE COMUNICACION Informe ITIae Bride Democracia u Comunicación Prensa Obrera u Sindical Agencias noticiosas Solé Díaz Bordenave Silva Somavía Vargas Pasquini ( II época ) DIRECTOR GENERAL DR. LUIS E. PROANO CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE REDACCION DR. LUIS RAMIRO BELTRAN LIC. ALBERTO MALDONADO Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Escuela de Ciencias de la Información Desarroll CIID - COLOMBIA Universidad Central de Quito - ECUADOR DR. MIGUEL DE MORAGAS SPA DR. PETER SCHENKEL ¡•acuitad de Ciencias de la Información Inundación l'riedrich Ebert en CIESPAL Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona - LSPAÑA LIC. MARCO ENCALADA DR. JOHN T. McNELLY Director Técnico de CIESPAL Universidad de Winsconsin - Madison DR. LUIS GONZAGA MOTTA DR A. CUMANDA GAMBOA DE ZELAYA Experto en Comunicación Social Decano de la Facuitad de Comunicación Fundación Friedrich Ebert en CIESPAL Unh'ersidad Estatal de Guayaquil - ECUADOR RAFAEL RONCAGLIOLO DR. EDUARDO CONTRERAS BUDGE Director de ILET - Instituto Latinoamericano Experto en Comunicación Social de Estudios Transnacionales - MEXICO. Fundación F’riedrich liberten CIES PAL DR. JOSE MARQUES DE MELO JOSE STEINSLEGER instituto Metodista de Ensino Superior E d itor / A sesor BRASIL Fundación Friedrich Ebert en CIESPAL COMITE EDITORIAL JOSE STEINSLEGER DR. PETER SCHENKEL LIC. MARCO ENCALADA Edición, Redacción y Diseño Gráfico Universidad Autónoma del Caribe CORRESPONSALES Universidad de Sao Paulo * María Nazareth Fcrreira Ana Leticia Valle C. Facultad de Comunicación Social
    [Show full text]
  • First Thoughts on the 25 January 2015 Election in Greece
    GPSG Pamphlet No 4 First thoughts on the 25 January 2015 election in Greece Edited by Roman Gerodimos Copy editing: Patty Dohle Roman Gerodimos Pamphlet design: Ana Alania Cover photo: The Zappeion Hall, by Panoramas on Flickr Inside photos: Jenny Tolou Eveline Konstantinidis – Ziegler Spyros Papaspyropoulos (Flickr) Ana Alania Roman Gerodimos Published with the support of the Politics & Media Research Group, Bournemouth University Selection and editorial matter © Roman Gerodimos for the Greek Politics Specialist Group 2015 All remaining articles © respective authors 2015 All photos used with permission or under a Creative Commons licence Published on 2 February 2015 by the Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) www.gpsg.org.uk Editorial | Roman Gerodimos Continuing a tradition that started in 2012, a couple of weeks ago the Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) invited short commentaries from its members, affiliates and the broader academ- ic community, as a first ‘rapid’ reaction to the election results. The scale of the response was humbling and posed an editorial dilemma, namely whether the pamphlet should be limited to a small number of indicative perspectives, perhaps favouring more established voices, or whether it should capture the full range of viewpoints. As two of the founding principles and core aims of the GPSG are to act as a forum for the free exchange of ideas and also to give voice to younger and emerging scholars, it was decided that all contributions that met our editorial standards of factual accuracy and timely
    [Show full text]
  • Download/Print the Study in PDF Format
    GENERAL ELECTION IN GREECE 7th July 2019 European New Democracy is the favourite in the Elections monitor Greek general election of 7th July Corinne Deloy On 26th May, just a few hours after the announcement of the results of the European, regional and local elections held in Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (Coalition of the Radical Left, SYRIZA), whose party came second to the main opposition party, New Analysis Democracy (ND), declared: “I cannot ignore this result. It is for the people to decide and I am therefore going to request the organisation of an early general election”. Organisation of an early general election (3 months’ early) surprised some observers of Greek political life who thought that the head of government would call on compatriots to vote as late as possible to allow the country’s position to improve as much as possible. New Democracy won in the European elections with 33.12% of the vote, ahead of SYRIZA, with 23.76%. The Movement for Change (Kinima allagis, KINAL), the left-wing opposition party which includes the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the Social Democrats Movement (KIDISO), the River (To Potami) and the Democratic Left (DIMAR), collected 7.72% of the vote and the Greek Communist Party (KKE), 5.35%. Alexis Tsipras had made these elections a referendum Costas Bakoyannis (ND), the new mayor of Athens, on the action of his government. “We are not voting belongs to a political dynasty: he is the son of Dora for a new government, but it is clear that this vote is Bakoyannis, former Minister of Culture (1992-1993) not without consequence.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Information in The
    Environmental information in the A journalist’sMediterranean guide to key questions and institutions CREDITS The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or Agencia EFE, concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, Agencia EFE or other participating organizations. Reproduction of this publication for educational and other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the sources are fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. This publication was funded by MAVA Foundation. Published by: IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation and Agencia EFE Produced by: IUCN Gland, Switzerland and Málaga, Spain; Agencia EFE, Madrid, Spain. Written and coordinated by: Catalina Arévalo and Lourdes Lázaro Marín Review: Andrés Alcántara, Juan María Calvo, Ignacio Fernández Bayo, Alain Jeudy, Arturo Larena, Sonsoles San Román y Carla Danelutti Citation: Arévalo, C., Lázaro Marín L. et al. 2016. ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. A journalist’s guide to key questions and institutions. Gland, Switzerland, and Malaga and Madrid, Spain. IUCN and Agencia EFE. 96 pp Translations: Sonsoles San Román English proofreading: C. Tribe Design: porfinlunes.es Printed by: Solprint S. L. (Málaga) ISBN: 978-2-8317-1830-9 Available from: www.iucn.org/mediterranean, www.efeverde.com © 2017 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and Agencia EFE Acknowledgements The present document is the result of a first step of collaboration with the Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies and its environmental and scientific journalists.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek New Right and the Eve of Conservative Populism
    The Visio Journal ● Volume 4 ● 2019 The Greek New Right and the Eve of Conservative Populism By Athanasios Grammenos* The economic crisis in the Eurozone and its dire consequences for Greece terminated the post-1974 political consensus, which was based on a pro-European and democratic concord. The collapse of the social-democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 2012 allowed space for the radical Left to become the new pole of the political system. To this advancement, the conservatives, being the other pole, responded with a prompt enlargement attempt to the populist right-wing, engulfing several elements of the New Right. This new political order had had evident effects on the party’s social and economic agenda, escalating the political debate at the expense of established liberal principles. While in opposition (2015-2019), New Democracy (ND), member of the European Peo- ple’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, voted against a series of liberal bills (gender issues, separation of Church and State, the Macedonian issue, etc.) giving out positions with authoritarian and populist essence. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the rise of the New Right in Greece (2012-2019) in both rhetoric and practice, and its consequences for law institutions, human rights and foreign affairs. It is argued that ND, currently holding office, has been occupied by deeply conservative elements as a response to the rise of the radical Left, adopting occasionally ultra-conservative positions in a wide range of social issues. Although the case of Greece is unlike to those in other European countries, nevertheless, to the extent to which the preservation of traditional hierarchies come into question, the political platform of the Greek New Right, which has embedded authoritarian attitudes cultivating an anti-liberal sub-culture to the party’s voters, is in accordance with several European conservative movements like in Hungary, Austria or Czechia.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Semitism in Greece
    HONORARY CHAIRMAN ADVISORY BOARD (CHAIR) PRESIDENT Yuri Orlov Karl von Schwarzenberg Ludmilla Alexeyeva EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VICE PRESIDENT Aaron Rhodes Sonja Biserko Ulrich Fischer Holly Cartner DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIR ECTOR Bjørn Engesland TREASURER Brigitte Dufour Krassimir Kanev Stein -Ivar Aarsæther Andrzej Rzeplinski Wickenburggasse 14/7, A -1080 Vienna, Austria; Tel +43 -1-408 88 22; Fax 408 88 22-50 e-mail: office@ihf -hr.org – internet: http://www.ihf-hr.org Bank account: Bank Austria Creditanstalt 0221-00283/00, BLZ 12 000 Anti-Semitism in Greece: Recent Developments PC.DEL/605/03 Report by International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights and 19 June 2003 Greek Helsinki Monitor June 16, 2003 ENGLISH only Much of the information contained in this report, in addition to further examples can be found in the Greek Helsinki Monitor/Minority Rights Group Greece November 2002 report, Anti- Semitism in Greece a Current Picture: 2001-2002 , available on the internet.1 Anti-Semitic expressions in Greece continue to stem from two central misconceptions: a perceived threat to the traditional, Orthodox Greek culture and the direct link between Greek Jewry and Israeli policy in the Middle East. In the absence of strong criticism, selected clergy, journalists, and politicians have brought their extreme views into mainstream discussion, the effect of which seeds anti-Semitic views within the larger Greek population. Manifestation of anti-Semitism in Reporting and Commentary on the Middle East Crisis Anti-Israeli sentiment regarding the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict and perceived threats to the Greek Orthodox Christian culture, continue to fuel the majority of anti-Semitic comments and incidents reported in the Greek media.
    [Show full text]
  • AS AMENDED (Ja 0/%-1L~ ., ~. .~ __ Nli"7Ta.': 5'ECRET 2
    6016 TH E WH ITE HOUS E WASHINGTON MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION SUBJECT: President's Expanded Meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis of Greece (U) PARTICIPANTS: The President John H. Sununu, Chief of Staff Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Marlin Fitzwater, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary Michael Sotirhos, U.S. Ambassador to Greece James F. Dobbins, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs David C. Gompert, Senior Director for European and Soviet Affairs David Ransom, Director, Office of Southern European Affairs, Department of State Nicholas Burns, Director for Soviet and European Affairs (Notetaker) Interpreter Constantine Mitsotakis, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Foreign Minister Ioannis Varvitsiotis, Minister of Defense Dora Kakoyianni, Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Efthimios Christodoulou, Alternate Minister of Economy Christos Zacharakis, Ambassador to the U.S. Constantine Liberopoulos, MFA Director­ General of Political Affairs Emmanuel Ghikas, MFA Director for Cyprus and Turkey Lucas Tsilas, Director of the Prime Minister's Diplomatic Office Interpreter DATE, TIME Ju 1 y 18, 1991; 5: 00 p. m . - 6: 00 p. m . AND PLACE: Prime Minister's Office, Athens, Greece Prime Minister Mitsotakis: Thank you very much for your visit, Mr. President. It is very important and very effective for moving forward with our relationship. This is a good opportunity to exchange views on the most important issues. In the time lefL to us, we would like to ask our Minister of Economics to give you a brief picture of our economy. (U) DECLASSIFIED SECRET PER E=O. 12958, Declassify on: OADR AS AMENDED (jA 0/%-1l~ ., ~._.~ __ nLi"7ta.': 5'ECRET 2 Minister Christodoulou: Allow me to outline the problems.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilakis Nation and Its Ruins.Pdf
    CLASSICAL PRESENCES General Editors Lorna Hardwick James I. Porter CLASSICAL PRESENCES The texts, ideas, images, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome have always been crucial to attempts to appropriate the past in order to authenticate the present. They underlie the mapping of change and the assertion and challenging of values and identities, old and new. Classical Presences brings the latest scholarship to bear on the contexts, theory, and practice of such use, and abuse, of the classical past. The Nation and its Ruins: Antiquity, Archaeology, and National Imagination in Greece YANNIS HAMILAKIS 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Yannis Hamilakis 2007 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization.
    [Show full text]
  • Carol Migdalovitz Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defense Division
    Order Code RS21855 Updated October 16, 2007 Greece Update Carol Migdalovitz Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defense Division Summary The conservative New Democracy party won reelection in September 2007. Kostas Karamanlis, its leader, remained prime minister and pledged to continue free-market economic reforms to enhance growth and create jobs. The government’s foreign policy focuses on the European Union (EU), relations with Turkey, reunifying Cyprus, resolving a dispute with Macedonia over its name, other Balkan issues, and relations with the United States. Greece has assisted with the war on terrorism, but is not a member of the coalition in Iraq. This report will be updated if developments warrant. See also CRS Report RL33497, Cyprus: Status of U.N. Negotiations and Related Issues, by Carol Migdalovitz. Government and Politics Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis called for early parliamentary elections to be held on September 16, 2007, instead of in March 2008 as otherwise scheduled, believing that his government’s economic record would ensure easy reelection. In August, however, Greece experienced severe and widespread wildfires, resulting in 76 deaths and 270,000 hectares burned. The government attempted to deflect attention from what was widely viewed as its ineffective performance in combating the fires by blaming the catastrophe on terrorists, without proof, and by providing generous compensation for victims. This crisis came on top of a scandal over the state pension fund’s purchase of government bonds at inflated prices. Under these circumstances, Karamanlis’s New Democracy party’s (ND) ability to win of a slim majority of 152 seats in the unicameral 300-seat parliament and four more years in office was viewed as a victory.
    [Show full text]
  • Negotiating Im/Politeness Via Humor in the Greek Parliament Marianthi Georgalidou University of the Aegean [email protected]
    Georgalidou, Marian. Negotiating Im/politeness via Humor in the Greek Parlament Estudios de Lingüística del Español 43 (2021), pp. 99-121 Negotiating Im/politeness via Humor in the Greek Parliament Marianthi Georgalidou University of the Aegean [email protected] Resumen El objetivo de este estudio es examinar la manera en la que el humor sirve como medio de negociación des/cortés en el discurso de los parlamentarios griegos. (Harris 2001; Morreall 2005; Bippus 2007; Tsakona and Popa 2011; Georgalidou 2011). El humor ha sido abordado como una estrategia de cortesía positiva, en el sentido de mitigar el ataque directo a personas, situaciones o ideas y sirve como medio de crítica indirecta (Haugh 2016). No obstante, el humor -y la ironía- en el disrcurso parlamentario se usa para lanzar ataques contra adversarios y sirve como un medio de construcción de identidades políticas perjudiciales para los adversarios políticos (Tsakona 2011; Nuolijärvi and Tiittula 2011). En el contexto de la crisis económica que atravesó Grecia, el presente estudio basado en datos recopilados de las Actas de las Sesiones Plenarias del Parlamento Helénico durante un período de 10 años (2009-2019), analiza la relación entre el humor y la agresión verbal en el discurso político griego. Las cuestiones abordadas conciernen al humor como modo de comunicación en casos de conflictos que superan los límites de la rivalidad política en el discurso parlamentario (Corranza-Marquez 2010; Georgalidou 2016; Frantzi, Georgalidou and Giakoumakis 2019). La aproximación analítica es émica, basada en el análisis de unidades discursivas como acciones sociales. Por tanto, se analizan episodios de discurso parlamentario agresivo por la organización secuencial de interacción humorística.
    [Show full text]
  • State Transformation and the European Integration Project Lessons from the Financial Crisis and the Greek Paradigm Evangelos Venizelos No
    State Transformation and the European Integration Project Lessons from the financial crisis and the Greek paradigm Evangelos Venizelos No. 130/February 2016 Abstract The financial crisis that erupted in the eurozone not only affected the EU’s financial governance mechanisms, but also the very nature of state sovereignty and balances in the relations of member states; thus, the actual inequalities between the member states hidden behind their institutional equality have deteriorated. This transformation is recorded in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the member states’ constitutional courts, particularly in those at the heart of the crisis, with Greece as the most prominent example. It is the issue of public debt (sovereign debt) of the EU member states that particularly reflects the influence of the crisis on state sovereignty as well as the intensely transnational (intergovernmental) character of European integration, which under these circumstances takes the form of a continuous, tough negotiation. The historical connection between public debt (sovereign debt) and state sovereignty has re-emerged because of the financial crisis. This development has affected not only the European institutions, but also, at the member state level, the actual institutional content of the rule of law (especially judicial review) and the welfare state in its essence, as the great social and political acquis of 20th century Europe. From this perspective, the way that the Greek courts have dealt with the gradual waves of fiscal austerity measures and structural reforms from 2010 to 2015 is characteristic. The effect of the financial crisis on the sovereignty of the member states and on the pace of European integration also has an impact on European foreign and security policy, and the correlations between the political forces at both the national and European level, thus producing even more intense pressures on European social democracy.
    [Show full text]