English edition

The Greeks still quote an aphorism that has remained in the language unchanged from the time of Solon in antiquity: Rejoice in nothing before it is over. It would be wrong for one to believe that a positive outcome in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic is foreordained. Yet at the same time it would be fatalistic for one not to acknowledge that Greece has already accomplished a significant labour and passed a critical hurdle. It has become a model in its handling of the public health crisis for countries which have a long record of organisation, infrastructure, and discipline. Moreover, Greece’s 10-year economic depression has deprived the country of the requisite means to grapple with the current public health crisis with a full arsenal of weapons. It is precisely for that reason that the government acted with exceptional speed and foresight. One should acknowledge this and not issue fatalistic pronouncements that the government turned a weakness into fuel to gain advantage. To paraphrase the famous quote by the late statesman Constantine Karamanlis who declared that “We are doing well abroad”, implying that the domestic picture is not so rosy, one might say today that we are doing well at home. That is the overwhelmingly prevailing sense in public opinion as 86 percent of respondents in a recent surveys approve of the partial lockdown and 67 percent approve of the government’s emergency economic measures [Pulse polling company, 2 April]. These numbers are very significant as they reflect that the crisis is helping to restore citizens’ trust in institutions and the state. Did we need a crisis to begin restoring that necessary trust, to succeed in that labour? The answer lies in yet another ancient aphorism: “There is nothing bad that comes without some good”, which is to say every cloud has a silver lining. Greece .has become a model in its handling of the public health crisis for countries which have a long record of organisation, infrastructure, and discipline.

“We may see a decline yet this is up to us entirely as the spread can very rapidly reach the larger population, depending on whether people abide strictly by current restrictive measures," Tsiodras said.

The level of debate in Parliament yesterday was a far cry from what one used to see in the tumultuous years of Greece’s bailout memorandum and prior to that.

“We are not at the beginning of the end. We are perhaps at the end of the beginning,” the PM said in underlining the need for a continuation of the lockdown.

Offering assistance to senior citizens is an integral part of the collective effort that must made by the overwhelming majority in order to weather this deadly pandemic.

The balmy weather and a degree of complacency due to the relatively successful containment of the rate of spread of the virus in Greece made for a noxious cocktail.

Berlin proposes that those hardest hit repair to the ESM for loans that would break the back of the highly indebted countries.

There is a pressing need for certain EU leaders to understand that now is not the time for strict economic discipline. This is an hour when the welfare of human beings must come first.

Resistance to fascism and all manner of oppression was for Manolis Glezos - who Charles de Gaulle described as the 'first partisan of Europe' - a sacred and perpetual duty. He simply could not do otherwise.

The Turkish leadership went as far as to liken the situation at the border to the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. This disrespected the memory of the millions brutally murdered by the Nazis.

Tsiodras announced 56 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours and 5 new deaths, and said this brings the country’s total to 1,212 confirmed infections and 43 deaths.

 'As the government was first to mobilise, with bold measures against the pandemic, so our country's political classes must stand on the front lines of solidarity,'said PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis,

It would be disastrous to leave the economy to its own devices as many governments in Europe realise though there are glaring and unfortunate exceptions, which have made the situation even more difficult.

In managing the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic he positively impressed everyone with his clear judgment, the directness of his choices, and his swift reaction.

Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos told nationwide Mega television that residents of Attica will not be permitted to leave the area and return to ancestral villages as happens each year with a huge exodus from Athens.

Greece and the enitire EU responded effectively when migrants and refugees in Evros were exploited by Ankara as a tool of blackmail to achieve objectives that were anything but humanitarian.

Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis today directly accused Turkey of blackmailing Europe for years by sending over one million migrants and declared essentially that the jig is up and that both Greece and the EU will not permit this to continue.

The health ministry spokesman announced 71 new cases of covid-19 in Greece in the last 24 hours and four more deaths, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 892 and the total number of deaths to 26.

We need unity and discipline and that is why the president and the government underlined that the pandemic is a national affair which does not concern only the government and authorities.

With the pandemic likely to decimate Greek tourism, which is widely viewed as the engine of the economy, the tourism ministry will launch an intensive campaign to attract foreign tourists to Greece,