The makeshift migrant camp in Eidomeni has been in the news regularly since the end of 2015. Reports today claimed the camp was finally being evacuated by Greek authorities. This would not be the first time. Last November a group of fifteen Dukakis Center interns, from Greece, the US, and several Balkan countries, organized a […]

By John Lloyd The rich are always with us, and we’ll have more of them soon. A report last week from Boston Consulting Group shows that the global millionaire population is some 13.8 million. That is twice the size of Switzerland, which is, incidentally, where many of them have parked much of their wealth. More […]

By Lauren Rothschild NB Lauren Rothschild is a Freshman at Northeastern University majoring in international relations and political science and studying abroad at ACT and interning at the Dukakis Center during the Fall 2016 semester. On Saturday October 22nd, the Olympion Theater in Thessaloniki hosted the 5th annual symposium on World Affairs, with this year’s […]

By Franchesca Verendia Leaving for Greece from the US I was expecting plenty of things—good food, a nice view, rich history, and some beautiful weather. I was even expecting some initial culture shock. What I was not expecting were the long stares when I walked down the street, the second-guessing questions (“So where are from?” […]

By David Wisner A few months ago I filed my Greek tax return, as I have every year since 1995; just recently I payed the first installment of my remaining income tax obligation for 2012. This year, like last, I had to submit all the receipts I had amassed over the course of the calendar […]

By Franesca Kareivis I recently attended a debate in the Thessaloniki Municipal Council chamber organized by the British Embassy in Athens. It was an interesting debate, demonstrating that young people have power and should be active members of society. After the four featured speakers debated, the mayor of Thessaloniki spoke a bit about some problems […]

Saddening news from today’s Greek Reporter. “Shady businessmen and companies produce thousands of fake Greek products in China, the UK and the US causing tremendous financial losses to Greek exporters and domestic economy, reported the Panhellenic Exporters Association Jan. 24, adding that ‘disturbing phenomena of malicious trademark registration of well-known Greek companies have been recorded […]

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (ND) Administrative Reform and E-Governance Minister Antonis Manitakis (technocrat, Professor of Constitutional Law) Deputy Manoussos Voloudakis (ND) Agricultural Development and Food Minister Athanasios Tsaftaris (technocrat, Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding) Deputy Maximos Harakopoulos (ND) Defence Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos (ND) Deputy Panagiotis Karambelas (former Lieutenant General – Hellenic Army) Deputy Dimitrios Elefsiniotis (former Vice Admiral – Hellenic Navy, former Chief of […]

The remains of one of the earliest inhabitants of the city of Thessaloniki, those of a young woman, roughly twenty-five years of age, adorned with a gold crown, have been uncovered and published in a tomb dating from the third century BC, during excavations coinciding with digging for the Thessaloniki Metro, near the Stathmos Dimocratias. […]

Politis posted excerpts earlier today from a Council of Europe report on domestic threats to democracy in Greece. Below a short article taken from Portside giving a left-of-center take on the same question. “There’s a new smog hanging over Greek cities this winter: an acrid cloud of wood smoke that burns the back of the […]

By Nikos Chrysoloras It is now official: Cyprus will pay a heavy toll for turning its economy into an offshore financial haven and allowing its banking sector to hyperinflate. But if the purpose of the dramatic eurozone all-nighters was not just to punish and make an example of the island, but to solve the issue, […]

By Jiya Pinder Stability — economic, political and social — is a state that most countries strive for, any of the three aspects can offset or compromise the next, making national stability difficult to achieve for any government. In democratic societies and in societies in transition, “youth” play an essential role in maintaining stability. As […]

  “Obama is very possibly a world-historical political figure, and until those who oppose him come to grips with this fact, they will get him wrong every time.” — John Podhoretz

                            Photo: Thanasis Tsalikis

By Politis This past week the Municipality of Thessaloniki has hosted a unique Franco-German initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe, a Dutch-registered NGO based in Thessaloniki with outreach throughout the Balkans. Academics, journalists, practitioners, and above all university students have gathered in Thessaloniki to continue their ongoing series […]

“Living in silence is not living, in any corner of the planet. Living and remaining silent about how the corrupt, crime and impunity continue to take ahold of my country is also to die. Without freedom of expression, justice and democracy are not possible.” — Anabel Hernández, Mexican investigative journalist living under 24 hour police […]

In this post we publish the responses of a group of young Greek voters to the question, “How will you feel when you go to vote in Sunday’s elections?” It is perfectly certain for a responsible and thoughtful citizen that his right to participate in politics by voting is not so simple. In a democratic […]

By Katinka Barysch The German idea of sending Athens a ‘budget commissioner’ was daft. Berlin itself could not tolerate such interference in its fiscal sovereignty (the constitutional court would never allow it). But to restrict such budgetary oversight to Greece alone would be disdainful and a political non-starter. The idea predictably caused outrage in Greece. […]

Catchy title in today’s euronews: “Could youth vote stir up next European elections?” Excerpts from Anders Melin’s article below. “A survey released by the European Commission last week showed 65 percent of eligible voters below the age of 30 plan to vote next year, with a particular rise among first-time voters. That represents a sharp […]

By Krysta Kalachani Exostis seems pretty interesting, a “place” where residents of Thessaloniki can find interesting cultural and other types of events. The good things that happen in the city, as they assert. I am not familiar with the site or the magazine (which I understood circulates as well), but it seems a good site […]