Agora
![Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/10/15/acropolis_esenbel_900_1510-large.jpg "Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]")
House of cards (The rise and fall of Akis Tsochatzopoulos)
It was the house that did for him. Former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos succumbed to the base desire of enshrining his wealth and potency in real estate. Hubris, however, blinded him to the dangers of choosing a property within a marble fragment’s throw of the Parthenon. On some days, the Acropolis’s shadow virtually touched the luxury apartment the PASOK veteran purchased on Athens’ most exclusive road.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (387), Society (142), Greece (498)
![Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/10/10/blue_esenbel_800_1010-large.jpg "Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]")
It remains a mystery
The Wall Street Journal leaked this week the minutes of an International Monetary Fund board meeting in May, 2010, just a few days before Greece signed its first bailout. The extracts reveal that there was serious concern among about a third of the country representatives, who raised serious objections about the Greek programme.
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Europe (282), Economy (331), Greece (498)
A quarter-pounder democracy
Just under 17 years ago, New York Times commentator Thomas Friedman put forward a theory that if McDonald’s restaurants open in a country, a functioning democracy and institutions won’t be far behind. In July, the last McDonald’s operating in Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, closed. Friedman did not opine on whether the opposite of his theory was also true.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Society (142), Greece (498)
Lest we forget
The satisfaction of seeing our political system and institutions fulfilling their role should not allow the events that have led up to this point of possible catharsis slip from our mind.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (387), Society (142), Greece (498)
Who’s afraid of Angela Merkel?
Angela Merkel triumphed in the German elections. The 41.5 percent gained by the CDU/CSU put her in the same league as her conservative predecessors, Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. While most of Europe hoped for a different outcome, Germans opted for Mutti (mummy) Angela. Her simple message was: “You know me.” This was the closest a campaign has come to Adenauer’s “No experiments” in the late 50s, and it succeeded.
Contributor: Christos Katsioulis
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387)