A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
0
comments
Why ideology needs to take a back seat for now: a response to the May Elections
Posted June 15, 2012 by RS
By Ruth Sutton The Greek electorate voted with the less practical parts of their bodies in May… their feet, hearts and gall… and not so much with their heads. The two parties (and their dynasties) that have dominated the political scene for decades desperately needed a wake-up call, but will voters risk instability in order […]
comments
Independence day, for whom?
Posted March 25, 2014 by DW
Politis found this note on Facebook today. Apparently citizens were discouraged from attending today’s Independence Day parade in downtown Athens. “When the public cannot be trusted to celebrate their country’s independence, what independence is it, exactly, that they have to celebrate?”
comments
Desmond Lachman on the eurozone crisis
Posted March 25, 2013 by Politis
Ezra Klein spoke with Desmond Lachman of the American Enterprise Institute about the crisis of the eurozone, and recorded their conversation in his Washington Post Wonkblog. When asked about the political dimension of the crisis in southern Europe, Lachman replied: “My view is that what you’re seeing already is the politics coming unstuck in a […]
comments
A cynic’s guide to Greek politics
Posted January 26, 2013 by Politis
At Politis we try to encourage our readers to look for things positive regardless of how bleak a situation might appear. It is always instructive to distinguish between fairy tales and cynicism, however. A recent column by Andy Dabilis in Greek Reporter borders on the latter. Dabilis pulls no punches, and this is to his […]
comments
Hands on the roof of the car
Posted October 24, 2013 by Politis
What say we reverse roles. A regular reader of Politis sent this arresting image our way this morning, with the following caption by Banksy. “The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It’s people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” […]
comments
Taxes and citizenship
Posted January 3, 2013 by Politis
We rarely equate paying taxes with citizenship these days, although it is certainly one of those old-fashioned obligations we associate with residing in a certain place. French actor Gerard Depardieu (by the grace of God born a Frenchman, has now been offered Russian citizenship (along with the Belgian citizenship he sought a short while back […]
comments
Second Festival of Civic and Urban Culture, April 2016
Posted April 4, 2016 by Politis
Press release For immediate release March 24, 2016 During a ten-day period from April 11-20 the Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service at the American College of Thessaloniki will host its Second Festival of Civic and Urban Culture. The 2016 Festival will include, among others, a masterclass in stop-motion animation for […]
comments
2014: Voting as European citizens
Posted September 3, 2013 by Politis
Excerpts below from an article in yesterday’s New York Times by Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Felix Marquardt, founders of Europeans Now. “The time is ripe for a transnational, transgenerational, transpartisan, grass-roots and crowd-funded movement to take European integration to the next level. And before forming a party, we should look to Europe’s success stories to determine what […]
comments
In search of a Greek social contract
Posted February 24, 2012 by DW
By David Wisner I’ve been thinking a lot about the American Declaration of Independence. Let me explain by way of an anecdote. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s long-time business associate, is blind in one eye, owing to complications in a cataract operation. As Alice Schroeder tells the story, Munger never blamed the doctor, instead accepting responsibility […]
comments
College is over, guys
Posted August 1, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Paschos Mandravelis Most people look back on their college years with nostalgia. Those were carefree and uncomplicated days, but three times a year, the sensation of nonchalance was brutally interrupted. In late May, early September and mid-January, the backgammon board, students’ favorite pastime, would slam shut. Traffic at students hangouts would halt. Students would […]
comments
Administrative reform and the Greek parties
Posted June 4, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Konstantinos Bouas The ongoing administrative reform effort is one of the most critical issues of concern for administrative science in Greece. Considering the longstanding structural weaknesses of the public administration, as well as the explicit commitments of the Greek State deriving from the Memorandum, it is easy to realize the urgency of immediate and effective […]
comments
Saying of the day: 3/15/13
Posted March 15, 2013 by Politis
“Neither right nor left, but above (and beyond).” — Tiziana Ciprini (M5S MP)
comments
Why is competitiveness important?
Posted May 31, 2013 by Politis
Economists and others have stqated repeatedly that Greece needs to become more competitive to remain within the eurozone. We are rarely told why. Here, Stefan Garelli of IMD explains the meaning of competitiveness in this clip marking the release if the IMD’s 2013 World Competitiveness Ranking.
comments
What do these young people really want?
Posted December 17, 2015 by KK
By Krysta I am commenting on a recent article on the site Ανιχνεύσεις (“Η Νεολαία του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ ζητά να καταργηθεί η πρωινή προσευχή στα σχολεία“). I first asked myself, what is more interesting, the question of prayer in school or the activity of Syriza youth. Apart from the fact that the title is completely misleading […]
comments
Public sector reform, US style
Posted March 21, 2013 by Politis
Throughout Europe there has been an emphasis on public sector reform as the counterpart to austerity economics. In most cases, including Greece, little has been achieved. Paul Light of the Wagner School, NYU, makes a compelling case that the time is ripe in the US federal government for reform, now that sequester-imposed austerity has set […]
comments
Exostis
Posted October 11, 2013 by KK
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 […]
comments
When politics invaded the civil service
Posted April 25, 2012 by PR
By Fotini Kalliri, Kathimerini, Athens Every so often experts talk about the systemic nature of the crisis in the Greek civil service, offering different opinions as to why the state mechanism is in such a shambles and cannot contribute in any positive way to the country’s economy and growth. One thing that they all agree […]
comments
One crook for another
Posted February 28, 2013 by Politis
This one’s rich. According to todays Chicagoland blog in the Chicago Tribune, “Republican voters are suggesting the 2nd Congressional District replace one felon with another after picking ex-convict Paul McKinley as the candidate to run for the seat recently ceded by former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.” Jackson pleaded guilty last week to misusing campaign […]
comments
Around the town: 28/2/13
Posted February 28, 2013 by laura
NOW till Monday 1st Apr – The Greek Monsters – The Beetroot Design Group and the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art present a three-dimensional sculptures exhibition featuring the Minotaur, the Cyclops, the Stymphalian birds and the rest of the bizarre creatures that haunted heroes’ deeds in ancient Greek mythology. The exhibition consists of installations, sculptures, […]