Politics

Greece enters 2026 facing a pivotal twelve months that will effectively serve as the country’s long pre-election campaign, with social discontent and internal party friction threatening to reshape the political map before the next national vote. For Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, this is the final full year to govern before the election cycle formally opens.  ΤΟ ΑΡΘΡΟ ΣΥΝΕΧΙΖΕΙ ΜΕΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΔΙΑΦΗΜΙΣΗ The administration faces a convergence of structural crises: persistent inflation, a housing shortage that has alienated the middle class, and a credibility crisis in the agricultural sector following the OPEKEPE subsidies scandal. Internal pressure within the ruling New Democracy party is also mounting.  Former Prime Ministers Costas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras are expected to maintai...

Protesters in Athens demonstrating against austerity measures required by the European Union–International Monetary Fund bailout of the Greek government, May 9, 2010.© Vicspacewalker/Shutterstock.com Date:c. January 2009 - present The euro-zone debt crisis was a period of economic uncertainty in the euro zone beginning in 2009 that was triggered by high levels of public debt, particularly in the countries that were grouped under the acronym “PIIGS” (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain).Prelude to the crisisThe debt crisis was preceded by—and, to some degree, precipitated by—the global financial downturn that soured economies throughout 2008–09. When the “housing bubble” burst in the United States in 2007, banks around the world found themselves awash in “toxic” debt. Many of the s...

Village of Machairas, Central Greece. Photo: EV Threatening Greek peasants On April 15, 2025, the appointed president of Greece issued an order that is bound to have serious, nay, potentially catastrophic consequence on the countryside of Greece. The executive order says that any village of less than 2,000 inhabitants must accommodate with houses and schools at least 100 foreign legal or illegal immigrants as farm workers. Considering that Greece is suffering from dramatic demographic decline, there is no doubt that, should this order stand and Greek villages fill with foreigners, all of Greece will become a foreign country in less than 20 years. Yet, this sensible thought did not enter the calculations of the few people running Greece – in 2025. According to Eugenia Sarigianni, a Greek ps...

A Metron Analysis poll presented Thursday shows that the Greek government continues to face widespread public discontent, despite a slight increase in support within its own voter base. The survey indicates that a majority of citizens oppose the government’s performance, with dissatisfaction driven primarily by inflation and other economic pressures.Most Greeks Say the Country Is Moving in the Wrong DirectionAccording to the poll, 69% of respondents believe Greece is headed in the wrong direction, a figure consistent with previous surveys. Most people say their personal financial situation has either worsened or remained unchanged compared to last year, while only 15% report improvement.The top concern for nearly half of respondents (49%) is rising prices, followed closely by broader econo...

BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 23.​ Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Greece’s newly appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, Maria Papakonstantinou, on December 23, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend. Ambassador Papakonstantinu presented a copy of her credentials to Minister Bayramov, who congratulated her on the appointment and wished her success in her diplomatic work. During the meeting, the officials discussed the current state of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Greece, as well as regional and international issues. They highlighted that contacts and discussions between the heads of state and government form the foundation of bilateral relations and stimulate further collaboration. The importance of regular political dialogue, inc...

The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said the final week of the year draws to a close with the passage of the 2026 Budget and a series of landmark initiatives spanning the economy, security, and everyday life, according to his regular weekly message posted on Facebook. At the heart of the government’s agenda, he noted, is the strengthening of disposable income. This includes tax cuts amounting to 2.9 billion euros, alongside the already scheduled early payment of increased Jan. pensions. Turning to the ongoing farmers’ mobilizations, the prime minister stressed that the government remains open to dialogue, while underlining that 16 of the 27 demands have already been met. At the same time, he calls for an end to road blockades, warning that they are harming the economy. Housin...

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged, on Wednesday, that the large sums embezzled in the OPEKEPE farming scandal would be returned to the public coffers during a campaign tour in the town of Karpenisi in central Greece.The farming scandal came to light recently, revealing that a Greek state agency (OPEKEPE), responsible for disbursing funds to farmers, was implicated in fraudulent land leases and fake declarations that funneled millions of euros to non-existent farmland. The EU has fined Greece approximately €400 million over the matter, while several key figures in Mitsotakis’s cabinet were forced to resign, including the former Migration Minister Makis Voridis.The bulk of the fake declarations appear to have been filed by livestock farmers from the island of Crete between 201...

The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at length about the roadblocks set up by farmers and livestock breeders across Greece during a press conference following the conclusion of the European Union summit in Brussels, in the early hours of Friday, Dec. 19. His remarks, however, added little to efforts to foster meaningful dialogue or ease tensions.After reiterating that the government remains open to dialogue, the prime minister sought to strike a chord with public opinion by invoking the holiday season and the need to avoid inconveniencing travelers. He ultimately issued what amounted to an ultimatum, both to those maintaining the roadblocks and to the opposition, insisting that the government would not yield to what he described as maximalist demands.“Some farmers feel the ne...

I don’t bet on politics, but if I did, I’d be comfortable wagering it all that Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre will win his by-election in Battle River—Crowfoot on August 18. The Conservatives won that riding with just over 82 percent in the general election this spring. It was a typical showing for them. In the past twenty years, the party has won over 80 percent of the vote in the riding seven out of eight times. The other time, it won 71 percent of it. Battle River—Crowfoot is one of the safest Conservative ridings in the country, which is probably why Poilievre is running there in the first place. The Conservative leader lost his Ottawa-area seat on election night in April. It was an unthinkable defeat, and the networks were slow to call the race for Liberal candidate Bru...

The Greek government is making a bold move to overhaul its urban planning system, stripping municipalities of key responsibilities and centralizing building permit approvals under the Ministry of Environment and Energy. This dramatic shift aims to protect both sensitive areas and large-scale investment projects, following mounting concerns over unchecked development in popular tourist destinations. However, the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE) is pushing back, threatening to challenge the changes in the Council of State.Cracking Down on “House-of-Cards” PermitsIn the wake of scandals surrounding controversial construction projects—such as the now-infamous hotel on Milos, and the rampant overdevelopment, both legal and illegal, across the Cyclades, particularly on Mykonos an...