Greek Politics

Political parties are obliged by circumstances to put aside their partisan flags and to seek a minimum common ground, at least as regards the management of the many consequences of the ongoing war.

The election of Nikos Androulakis as the centre-left Movement for Change (KINAL) leader, and the rise of the party in the polls, indicates that the bipolar party system may be coming to an end.

The PM reiterated his core belief in the need for tertiary education to be linked to the labour market, so that graduates may more easily find employment and in order to boost the competitiveness of the economy.

Given the political tensions that prevailed internet trolls gained ground and returned to their destructive work of easy and absolutely corrosive slander.

At the Koumoundourou Square headquarters of main opposition Syriza they appear to be barricading themselves behind invisible enemies and maintain falsely that they are ideologically and politically under siege.

We learned in the recent past that sterile disputes and blind clashes contribute absolutely nothing to those who conceived of them or to citizens.

That spirit of consensus in yesterday’s parliamentary session is something that we should preserve and maintain after the pandemic crisis.

One can only imagine how differently Greece would have dealt with the crisis if the political system had exhibited the same spirit of maturity back then and if it had forged a consensus.

Parliamentary debate must be based on arguments and substantial dialogue and not on shrieks, spiteful attacks, and efforts to morally and politically annihilate the opponent.

Andreas Papandreou came to power by uniting the Greeks, in contrast to Alexis Tsipras who won by dividing and governed with the same divisive rhetoric.

The government's paramount consideration in all choices is political gains for the ruling party. Creating fissures in politics and society is a primary concern.

Those who today are complaining and denouncing the level of political dialogue should perhaps weigh their decisions more carefully in the future.

Social mobility, the reduction of inequalities, the lifting of exclusions, and the end of the police state are all achievements of Andreas Papandreou.

The report also concerns itself with Skopje’s EU course, and it calls for a roadmap for implementation and enforcement of the Prespa Accord in the longer term.