What’s next, after tens of thousands take to the street
Kathimerini English Edition
Kathimerini English Edition is a daily newspaper published and distributed along with the International New York Times.
By Constantine Capsaskis
Newsletter Editor
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. With the country still reeling from the deadly rail collision in Tempe last week which caused the death of 57 people, tens of thousands across Greece joined demonstrations on Wednesday to protest the perceived failures of state mechanisms and the subsequent lapses in safety standards.
The sheer size of the rallies that took place Wednesday, fueled by nationwide strikes, was a powerful statement. More than 60,000 people demonstrated in Athens, 20,000 to 30,000 in Thessaloniki, more than 10,000 in Patras, and thousands more in cities and towns from the island of Crete in the south to Ioannina in the north.
Despite several skirmishes between the demonstrators and police, with the by-now familiar sight of both Molotov cocktails and teargas, it was mostly a peaceful affair with children, pensioners, students all being present to make their sentiments clear to Greece’s political world.
The massive mobilization on Wednesday however, despite being one of the largest demonstrations in years, was only the tip of iceberg, as rallies were continuously held throughout the week across Greece.
This clear manifestation of public sentiment comes at a time when Greece is also gearing up for national elections. After an unofficial ceasefire out of respect to those who died and their families, Greece’s parties are set to return to something resembling a business-as-usual state of affairs in the coming days.
To this end, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ruled out rumors of an April election, with Kathimerini’s Stavros Papantoniou noting that the most likely day for the delayed elections will be May 21.
Spotlight
- The investigations into the Tempe disaster have uncovered a litany of errors, while it becomes clear that institutions both within and outside Greece had been warning that conditions on Greece’s railways were unsafe for years. The former head of the European Railway Agency told Kathimerini that he had issued warnings “since 2014, at least. And we repeat these reports every two years.” The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki had also drafted a technical report citing shortcomings. A further three people have also been charged in connection with the disaster.
- DiEM25 Secretary-General Yanis Varoufakis was attacked by a group of people in the central Athens neighborhood of Exarcheia on Friday night. The MP and former finance minister was hit in the face, resulting in a broken nose, and was taken to Evangelismos Hospital for treatment, with the Greek political world unanimously condemned the attack. Varoufakis blamed the attack on “hired thugs”, while the police announced that they had arrested a 17-year-old suspect and Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos pointed the finger at a group of anarchists.
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OPINION
Coalition government
By Tom Ellis
Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition
As the wave of anger against the “system” continues unabated and the political world is trying to deal with an emotionally charged situation, one can attempt an assessment of potential future developments.
The first opinion polls, published in the last few days – their reliability being questioned for a number of reasons, not confined just to their timing – show some damage to the government, which most likely will prove to be more extensive than presented.
Party officials, as well as pundits known for their ideological leanings and political preferences, give their distorted analyses of the situation.
On the other hand, an objective observer would offer the following thoughts:
The political system as a whole is paying a price. The government will see its numbers plummet as many of its supporters will choose not to vote, at least not in the first polls.
For his part, the prime minister hopes that once these disenchanted New Democracy voters have expressed their anger in the first election, they – most of them at least – will come around and vote, even coldheartedly, for the government in the second one.
On the opposition side, SYRIZA is not gaining, at least not as much as its leadership would hope for. The same is true for the third largest party, PASOK.
The prevailing sentiment is to punish the political system as a whole, and in the eyes of most this is represented by all three parties mentioned above; it is they that have governed in the past and are expected to do so again in the future, in one way or another.
On the other hand the small radical left party of former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, looks to gain from the anger and its chances of entering parliament seem increased.
Once the elections are announced, about a month before the date of the polls, the Supreme Court will be called upon to decide if the far right nationalist party of former Golden Dawn leading member, Ilias Kasidiaris, should be banned from participating. If it is allowed to run, and given the anti-systemic sentiment, it looks very likely that it will enter parliament with a higher percentage of votes than initially expected.
A final observation. Although many supporters of New Democracy felt until recently that their party would succeed in attaining a majority and would be able to govern by itself, it is now becoming more apparent that the most likely scenario is a coalition government of one form or another.
That is the result of more and more people feeling a need for additional checks and balances on any government, something a coalition partner would provide.
If that is the case, the question then becomes which parties will form this coalition. Here, we have to wait for the voters to decide.
CHART OF THE WEEK
The percentage of female executive directors in Greece’s banking sector ranks among the lowest within the European Union according to data released by the European Banking Authority, at just 2.94% compared to a European average of 18.05%. There has been some progress recorded in issues of corporate governance, with the recently appointed percentage of female executive directors reaching 7.14%, however Greece still ranks second from the bottom in the European Union and only one of two countries with a single-digit percentage in the category. The EBA also revealed that the majority of Greek executive directors are aged over 60, with no executive directors under 40 compared to a European average of 5.8%. The data has been calculated from a representative sample of 662 credit institutions and 129 investment firms, with almost half not having a female executive director.
ESCAPADE
Bringing the Archaeological Treasures of Halkidiki to Light
On land and underwater, recent archaeological discoveries in the northern Greek region of Halkidiki continue to fascinate and excite.
ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL
- “The positive streak of the Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index came to a decisive end this Friday with weekly losses of 5.24% and the bank index retreating by 13.57%. The index closed at 1,056.25 points.”
- “Greece recorded the second highest growth rate in the Eurozone during the fourth quarter of 2022 according to Eurostat at 5.20%. However, the Greek GDP remains quantitatively disadvantaged as consumption remains a key driver.”
- “Greek tourism companies will be able to hire workers from outside the European Union to cover the significant gaps that have been recorded in recent years. Indicatively, sector shortages are expected to exceed 75,000 positions this year.”
WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA
13/03/2023
Christodoulides in Athens: The new President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides will conduct an official visit to Athens where he will meet President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, and other party leaders.
13/03/2023
EU economic meetings: Finance Minister Christos Staikouras will travel to Brussels to participate in the monthly Eurogroup and Economic and Financial Affairs Council meetings.
16/03/2023
General strike: The General Confederation of Greek Workers and the Civil Servants’ Confederation have called for a further 24-hour general strike over the rail collision at Tempe.
PODCAST
Greece on the cusp of investment grade rating
The head of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, is adamant that 2023 will be the year when Greece finally regains investment grade. Eleni Varvitsioti, the Financial Times correspondent for Greece and Cyprus based in Athens, joins Thanos Davelis to look into how soon Greece can finally consign its junk status to history, look at the key challenges that still need to be addressed for the Greek economy, and explore how inflation – which is proving to be a top priority for central bankers across Europe – will impact Greece.