Greece
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A recent flood of unwelcome visitors challenges the Greeks' legendary hospitality. Saturday, 12 December 2009 | Christina Huffington The ancient Greeks were famed for their great and indiscriminate hospitality. Hospitality, or xenia, dominates Greek mythology, its boundless virtues extolled by Greek philosophers. To deny a stranger a warm welcome was to invite the wrath of the gods. In the past few years, however, the descendants of the ancient Greeks seem to have forsaken the famed hospitality of their ancestors. Sit in any open-air café in Athens these days and, in between drags of unfiltered cigarettes, sips of thick black coffee, and the usual political grumblings, you will hear wrinkled Greek men detailing in husky tones their wariness of the strangers who have recently arrived on Greece’s shores. Walk a block or two away from the cafés and the source of their discontent becomes evident. Greece has historically been a homogenous country, its population composed mostly of ethnic Greeks, Christians of the Greek Orthodox rite. Yet today, Athens rivals many of the most cosmopolitan cities in the diversity of its populace. City blocks are crowded with Somali men selling knock-off sunglasses on plastic tarps, and the squares in front of cross-adorned Orthodox cathedrals bustle with women in hijabs and the occasional turbaned man. These once-foreign images are the result of a surge in illegal immigration that has, in the last three years, overwhelmed the Mediterranean nation. Broken Borders Immigration to Greece has increased steadily over the last decade but surged significantly in recent years. In 2008, 146,000 illegal immigrants were detained by the Greek authorities, a 54 percent increase from 2006. The country's proximity to Turkey, lax port and border security and, most significantly, its European Union membership have made it the ideal gateway for migrants from Asia and Africa hoping to begin a new life in Europe. Martha Carapanos, a graduate student in economics and global politics at the University of Athens, attributes this sudden rise to a combination of the international economic crisis and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite attempts to secure the border, the Greek government has had little success blocking immigration. To read more: http://tyglobalist.org/index. php/20091212238/Features/No-Place-To-Turn.html |
Europe and the far right
Friday June 19, 2009
A friend and reader of this blog just returned from a trip to Greece and Italy.
He writes that in all his years visiting the region, he has never seen it so
tense. The sense of anger at immigrants, and mistrust of the political
elites, is palpable.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with the driver who took me to
Heathrow last weekend. We were talking about the recent election of two
members of the far-right, openly racist British National Party to the
European Parliament. The driver fretted a bit about it, but said it was no
surprise to him. As he put it, none of the mainstream political parties in
Britain will talk about the very real problems the country faces, which, in his
view, clash with the establishment's commitment to globalism and
multiculturalism. The driver said when the mainstream parties are
determined to wish these things away, and to demonize ordinary people
who try to bring them to the establishment's attention, they shouldn't be
surprised when radical political parties with nothing to lose draw support.
More at:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/06/europe-and-the-far-right.html
Friday June 19, 2009
A friend and reader of this blog just returned from a trip to Greece and Italy.
He writes that in all his years visiting the region, he has never seen it so
tense. The sense of anger at immigrants, and mistrust of the political
elites, is palpable.
I was reminded of a conversation I had with the driver who took me to
Heathrow last weekend. We were talking about the recent election of two
members of the far-right, openly racist British National Party to the
European Parliament. The driver fretted a bit about it, but said it was no
surprise to him. As he put it, none of the mainstream political parties in
Britain will talk about the very real problems the country faces, which, in his
view, clash with the establishment's commitment to globalism and
multiculturalism. The driver said when the mainstream parties are
determined to wish these things away, and to demonize ordinary people
who try to bring them to the establishment's attention, they shouldn't be
surprised when radical political parties with nothing to lose draw support.
More at:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/06/europe-and-the-far-right.html
| Information about the Greek Government According to the Constitution, executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and the Government. From the Constitutional amendment of 1986 the President's duties were curtailed to a significant extent, and they are now largely ceremonial; most political power thus lies in the hands of the Prime Minister. The position of Prime Minister, Greece's head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain a vote of confidence by the Parliament. The President of the Republic formally appoints the Prime Minister and, on his recommendation, appoints and dismisses the other members of the Cabinet. Legislative power is exercised by a 300-member elective unicameral Parliament. Statutes passed by the Parliament are promulgated by the President of the Republic. Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the President of the Republic is obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier on the proposal of the Cabinet, in view of dealing with a national issue of exceptional importance. The President is also obliged to dissolve the Parliament earlier, if the opposition manages to pass a motion of no confidence. Women's suffrage was guaranteed with a 1952 Constitutional amendment. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Court of Auditors (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Judiciary system is also composed of civil courts, which judge civil and penal cases and administrative courts, which judge disputes between the citizens and the Greek administrative authorities. |
