Events in Greece -Time for reflection

On the left the Greek minister for culture, Mixalis Liapis and on the right Prokopis Pavopoulos, the law and order minister.

Many people across the world will have been shocked by the scale of violence witnessed over the last 13 days in Greece. Scenes of intense confrontations with the police and a level of destruction that you normally wouldn't associate with a country famed for its natural beauty and long history.

However, away from the beaches and the museums there are has been a growing sense of despair amongst people, especially those under 25 that the country they live in has no place for them. A feeling that those in charge politically and economically lead lives cocooned by wealth and family connections which leave them indifferent to the problems faced by the rest of the population.

Cronyism, corruption and lack of accountability have eaten away at people's respect for institutions at the heart of Greek life. A fact that was vividly illustrated this week by two decisions which added to the impression that those in authority are above the law.

The first concerned the parliamentary report on the Vatopedi corruption scandal. The case which involved the dubious acquisition of state owned property by the Vatopedi Orthodox monastery involved several senior government officials and cost hundreds of millions of tax payer's money. However, despite a deluge of evidence indicating the misuse of office by high ranking government members the report concluded that there were no grounds for criminal charges.

This is simply the latest in a series of 45 scandals that have come to light since the New Democracy party came to power in 2004 on a platform of clean government.

The other case which has helped undermine faith in the Greek justice system and especially ELAS (the national police force) was the verdict in the Augustinos Dimtrios case which came out last week. Dimitrios, a university student from Cyprus was savagely beaten by eight police officers in an incident which was captured on live TV. Although the officers involved were found guilty none was sentenced to a jail term, instead they received a suspended sentence.

This has added to the sense, amply supported by numerous cases of police violence that law enforcement officials in Greece operate above the law, accountable to no one. One of the reasons why the clashes between protesters and riot police over the last week have been so fierce is the anger provoked by the possibility that the officer charged with killing 15 year old Alexis Grigoropoulos will walk free.

A toxic mix, of unemployment, disillusionment and frustration has driven young people onto the streets time and time again, it has led them to occupy 600 schools nationwide and hundreds of university departments. As of yet there has been no concerted demands for a program of political change, however, this simply reflects the fact that there are so many disparate participants involved in the protests. The speed and scale of the reaction has been such that there is no one group of people or organisation that can truthfully say that represent the demonstrator's will at the present time.

Monk's monkey business threatens to topple Greek government

For most world leaders the events of the previous weeks have been a source of worry and concern. However, for Kostas Karamanlis, the leader of Greece’s ruling New Democracy conservatives the economic crisis has provided a welcome relief from the constant critical attention by the nation's media.

Despite winning re - election just 13 months ago Greece’s conservatives have struggled to keep to their political agenda amidst a seemingly endless stream of finance and influence peddling scandals. Yet, for Greek voters the latest scandal may be just one too many, especially as it involves allegations of improper dealings at the very highest echelons of government.

The latest controversy revolves around the attempts by the Greek Orthodox monastery of Vatopedi to aquire a 40 million euro conference facility in Athens earlier this year. In exchange for the facility ,which was built as part of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the monastery offered Lake Vistonida, a protected wildlife reserve in northern Greece in exchange.

The high profile sale triggered an investigation by local media into the deal which has produced a series of long list of legal irregularities and a disturbing pattern of corruption in which the monks were given large tracts of land under what can best be described as dubious circumstances. The fact that the church then tried to sell back to the Greek state the land which it had recently been given has served to inflame popular anger against the government.

Even the usually high esteem in which the Greek Orthodox church is held in this deeply religious Balkan nation has been affected. The role of the Abbot Efraim, leader of the Vatopedi monastery and his connection with leading members of parliament, including government spokesman, Theodoros Rousopoulos has drawn the ire of many politicians and commentators across the political spectrum.

In addition the case has, according to many in the Greek media brought to light the complex web of patron-client relationships that link the Greek state and the Orthodox church.

The two public prosecutors, Ilias Koliousis and Eleni Sotiropoulou assigned to investigate the case resigned yesterday due to what they term political intervention by the government. In their letter of resignation they said that their investigation had uncovered evidence that implicated two deputy ministers in the case which is alleged to have cost taxpayers up to 100 million euros.

The dramatic developments in the Vatopedi case have merely added to the growing sense of distrust the many ordinary Greeks feel towards the New Democracy administration. The change in mood has been reflected in the steady drop of the party in recent opinion polls, triggering talk of possible elections.

According to the opposition left-wing PASOK party the current scandal is merely the 45th to come to light during the government’s 54 months in power. It should be noted that despite numerous accusations of corruption, bribery and abuse of power there has not been a single arrest or conviction of a member of the ruling conservative party.

Given the government's narrow one - seat majority and growing unrest over worsening economic conditions the chances that New Democracy will see out its second term seem slim.

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Tags: Greece | World | MONASTERY | Efraim | New Democracy | Kostas Karamanlis | greek politics | vatopedi