Our Town

Everyone seems to know that Greece is the cradle of democracy. It is common knowledge. It is a statement that foreigners like to make when they come here and want to give a good impression.

Whether prominent composers make responsible members of parliament is a question that has arisen several times in this country, but has never been convincingly answered. Mikis Theodorakis, who entered the Chamber from the left many a year ago, now sits on the right, a grand and honorary deputy of ND.

A rare atmospheric phenomenon enveloped Athens in such a deep fog one day last month that it was impossible to see three cars ahead in any of the city’s traffic jams.

It was reassuring to learn on the fifth of November that the sun rose pre­cisely at 6:45 am and set punctually at 5:23 pm, since almost everything else which happened that day seemed to be inconclusive. These were the times between which the polling stations were open, and during which 6,215,985 Greek citizens expressed themselves in one way or another.

The sane Tzannetakis government produced for the first time in more years than one would like to remember an air of national stability.

At last Greece has come out of the closet: it has officially admitted to having fought a civil war. But, in doing so, it claims that recently it’s gone straight, and the wounds inflicted on Greek by Greek have been bound up and are healing.

As is generally known, Greece has made a formal bid to host the Olympic Games in 1996. The formal petition took place under the former socialist government and it seems to have been the only act of ΡASOK which New Democracy approved of for it has enthusiastically reaffirmed the petition.

It’s said the Greek people are easily bored by routine and become inat-tentive. But the moment something unexpected happens, they perk up and the adrenalin begins to flow.

Even in the last half of the last year of the decade, and even though he lost last month’s elections, Andreas Papandreou continued to dominate the political life of Greece during the 1980s.

At a party in Kolonaki recently, an attractive lady was looking fretful and twisting her handkerchief in her fingers. Several gentlemen, noting her discomfit, tried to soothe her. Over dinner the conversation had been all about how many percentage points ND would win in the coming elections.