ARIANA FERENTINOU

First serious crisis for Greek government involves Turkey ARIANA FERENTINOU

First serious crisis for Greek government involves Turkey

Nobody could argue that the general elections in Greece last July gave Kyriakos Mitsotakis a significant victory, and he was credited with reversing the mood of the society to a more optimistic one. Most polls conducted during the last three months showed a constant degree of satisfaction towards the new government and personally to the new prime minister. The opposition is currently keeping a low profile. They have their own problems to solve, issues of ideological definition after a humiliating defeat.

October 03 2019
How will Mitsotakis handle relations with Turkey ARIANA FERENTINOU

How will Mitsotakis handle relations with Turkey?

It is not easy to change the political climate between countries that have seen the worst in their past. A traumatic history of bloody wars followed by periods of fragile peace cannot eradicate a state of permanent hostility and mistrust ranging to hate, which can infest the way societies see each other.

August 01 2019
First impressions from the new government in Greece ARIANA FERENTINOU

First impressions from the new government in Greece

It has been just over three weeks since the Conservatives of the New Democracy Party in Greece succeeded the leftist Syriza, yet Greeks are still trying to digest a power change which brings along a profound difference in political mentality and ideological perceptions.

July 25 2019
Short-lived honeymoon between Athens and Ankara ARIANA FERENTINOU

Short-lived honeymoon between Athens and Ankara

For a moment or two, we thought it was real. The election last Sunday of a new government in Greece under Kyriakos Mitsotakis was interpreted as a very positive development for Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the first foreign leader who called the new Greek prime minister shortly after the results were announced last Sunday evening. Erdogan’s call to wish every success was a chance for Mitsotakis to state that he is looking forward to a “re-start” of Turkish-Greek relations “on the basis of respect to international law and an honest dialogue beneficial to both peoples.”

July 11 2019
What Mitsotakis, the contender for Greek prime ministry, thinks about Turkey ARIANA FERENTINOU

What Mitsotakis, the contender for Greek prime ministry, thinks about Turkey

“We are prepared for the worst scenario. Our job is to always be prepared for the worst scenario. And we will be,” said the person who is likely to replace Alexis Tsipras as prime minister of Greece after the July 7 general election. Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the son of a former prime minister, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, and the brother of former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis.

July 04 2019
Greek elections: Between a rock and a hard place ARIANA FERENTINOU

Greek elections: Between a rock and a hard place

I called several of my relatives in Greece the other day. I wanted to know for whom they are going to cast their vote in the general elections on July 7.  They are an interesting social bunch and they could present a good sample for a pollster. Among them are several pensioners of various professions, some full-time professionals, housewives, and young graduates working in low paid jobs or temporary jobs, etc. The older ones are more keenly interested in politics, mainly of the left; the middle ones care more about their jobs; the young ones are indifferent and confused. Their excuse is “everybody is the same” and they did not vote in the last elections. Some live in Athens, some on the Ionian island where I come from.

June 27 2019
Shadow of Turkey hangs over the Greek elections ARIANA FERENTINOU

Shadow of Turkey hangs over the Greek elections

It is not an exaggeration to say that for the Greeks “no day passes without news from Turkey.” For good or bad, news about Turkey cover a substantial portion of a Greek’s daily news diet and even gives enough food for the future. This huge neighbor, with whom Greece has both land and sea borders, has been a constant source of worry and a big headache for Greek politicians who have not found so far - together with their Turkish counterparts - a calm and peaceful modus vivendi for their peoples.

June 13 2019
A first in Greece: Ioannina elects a Jewish mayor ARIANA FERENTINOU

A first in Greece: Ioannina elects a Jewish mayor

Unless there is a dramatic swing in the general trend, the present leftist government of Alexis Tsipras in Greece is heading for a defeat in the next snap general elections expected on July 7. The humiliating defeat of the Syriza party during last week’s elections for members of the European Parliament, as well as for the offices of mayor and local government, allowed 11 of the country’s administrative regions and all municipalities to pass over to the center-right opposition party of New Democracy. Its leader, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and his team are now counting days before they sweep into power in a month.

June 06 2019
Greek general election countdown ARIANA FERENTINOU

Greek general election countdown

When Alexis Tsipras visited Istanbul in February, he was surprised to observe his popularity among the Turkish public. I heard him say it with my ears.

May 30 2019