Politics

Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Alexis Tsipras. Credit: Amna Greece is entering a new era of political turbulence. Scandals, governance failures, and voter frustration are shaking established leaders like Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while speculation grows over Alexis Tsipras’ potential return. The latest Interview poll, published on August 26, shows New Democracy plunging to 21.4 percent, Syriza languishing at 3.7 percent, and a staggering 43 percent of voters responding “none of the above” when asked who is most suitable for prime minister. The global financial crash of the late 2010s redefined party dynamics, eroding the once-dominant PASOK and weakening New Democracy, while propelling the left-wing Syriza from a marginal force to government. Today, however, Greece appears headed into a new kind of po...

Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan. Credit: flickr / Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs CC BY 2.0 Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis issued a sharp rebuttal to recent remarks by his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, who accused Greek politicians of exploiting anti-Turkish sentiment for domestic political gain. Speaking after Fidan’s televised interview in Turkey, Gerapetritis stressed that Greece’s foreign policy is not defined by Turkey, nor does Athens harbor hostile ambitions. “Greece has neither phobic syndromes nor is defined in reference to Turkey,” Gerapetritis said. “We do not accept instructions from anyone. We understand the discomfort that can be caused by Greece’s strong and active foreign policy. Let everyone get used to this reality and not turn embarrassment into h...

Athens, February 9, 2026 – 06:30 Former SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis has relaunched his political movement under the new name "Democrats," sparking debates over the origins of the name and slogans, as well as accusations of fostering an aggressive online supporter base. The rebranding was announced at the party's congress, where Kasselakis sought approval from delegates. However, records show the "Democrats" name was registered and its domain secured four days prior to the event. Kasselakis later confirmed to the congress that he had obtained permission to use the name from Andreas Loverdos, a former politician who previously held the rights to it. Behind the Scenes: Slogans and Accusations Adding to the controversy, the youth wing of New Democracy (ONNED) accused Kasselak...

In the hierarchy of global crises, the long-running conflict between Greece and Turkey ranks relatively low. For Greece and the Greek public, however, the picture is different: The confrontation with their eastern neighbor has traditionally dominated foreign and security policy. For Turkey’s leadership, by contrast, the Greece file ranks lower on the agenda amid today’s political turbulence. Developments to Turkey’s south and east are of greater importance to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara holds a key role when it comes to shaping Syria’s future. Whether Iran, Gaza, or – not least – the war in Ukraine, Turkey has been adept at vying for power and influence across multiple flashpoints of international politics. Donald Trump, it should be added, is not known to have shown particular ...

Speaking to journalists in Istanbul on Thursday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said improvement of Turkish-Greek relations is always possible, but Greek politicians have long utilized Türkiye for their own political career. “Greece’s domestic politics do not provide room for a solution in resolving issues between our countries. Greece should exhibit a strong will to resolve bilateral issues. Türkiye has enough maturity to move ties forward,” he said. He said a new meeting between the leaders of the two countries may take place soon and confirmed upcoming high-level talks between Turkish and Greek officials. A political dialogue meeting is expected to take place this month and would be followed by talks under the so-called Positive Agenda framework. The two-day meetings are expected t...

Few figures in modern Greek history have divided opinion as sharply as former Prime minister Alexis Tsipras. To some, he is the firebrand populist who took the country to the edge of financial abyss. To others he was the man who dared to confront Europe’s most powerful institutions at the height of the debt crisis but at the end betrayed his own promises when he signed the bailout agreement he once campaigned against. On Monday, Alexis Tsipras announced his resignation as a member of parliament for SYRIZA, a move widely interpreted as a prelude to launching a new political entity outside the party he once led.Tsipras’s rise to power has been nothing short of extraordinary. From student activism in the 1990s to leading Greece’s first radical left-wing government in 2015, he became the young...

Yanis Varoufakis entered public consciousness as the academic in a leather jacket who briefly became Greece’s finance minister in 2015. For having the temerity to lecture his creditors on the folly of austerity, he was treated as the villain of the piece. Yet for all his swagger, he has always been a surprisingly sober thinker: Keynesian at heart, internationalist in instinct, he has built a reputation as a critic of dollar hegemony and Fortress Europe, a defender of both the precariat and refugees. You wonder if he’s experienced some schadenfreude in watching Germany’s economic miracle go bad of late – an implosion largely brought about by administering to itself the austerian medicine it once prescribed to the Greeks.His latest book, the 10th since 2010, departs from his usual sober fare...

Greece on Monday (14 September) accused migrants of deliberately burning their overcrowded camp last week on Lesbos island, where hundreds reluctantly moved to a new temporary site with “no showers or mattresses”. Families, children, young men and pregnant women have been left wandering aimlessly since a blaze ripped through the Moria camp on the night of 8 September. The fire has forced its 12,000 former occupants to sleep rough in abandoned buildings, on roadsides and even rooftops. “The camp was burned by refugees and migrants who wanted to blackmail the government in order to be rapidly transferred from the island (to the continent),” Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters in Athens. He gave no further details. Greece’s migrations minister last week made similar accus...

Greek authorities have arrested an air force officer on suspicion of espionage after he allegedly collected and transmitted classified military information – including material related to NATO – to China. The arrest was carried out in the early hours of 5 February at a military facility and was coordinated with the country’s intelligence services, according to a statement by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. Officials say the officer used specialised classified software to funnel confidential information to Beijing. The defence ministry added that the suspect, a 50-year-old man, may be stripped of Greek nationality. Authorities described the case as particularly serious, noting that it could constitute classic espionage if the allegations are confirmed. They stressed that, based...

A new index tracks the progress of the Greek government based on pledges. Credit: AMNA How effective is the Greek government in turning campaign promises into real policies and progress? To answer that question, the Center for Liberal Studies—Markos Dragoumis (KEFIM) has launched the Election Program Implementation Index, a new tool designed to measure whether pledges made prior to the polls are actually carried out in practice. Based on the most recent data (August 2025), the index shows that out of 156 measurable government commitments: 18% have been fully implemented 21% partially implemented 44% remain in progress 5% have been abandoned or left unfulfilled 12% cannot be evaluated due to lack of publicly available data This means that a total of 39 percent of campaign pledges have bee...