The Agora: Recent Episodes
MacroPolis
The Agora is a podcast created by the team behind MacroPolis. It’s a political and economic analysis website based in Athens.
In this podcast series, we examine political, economic and social developments in Greece. But our podcasts will also look at what’s happening in the world around us.
We provide listeners with insight from our own experts and analysis from special guests.
If you enjoy intelligent, lively discussion and want the bigger picture, join us for a stroll through the Agora.
To get an idea of the kind of insight we provide, check out The Agora blog, which has being going strong since 2013.
Our theme music is a track called Straight Line Blues and has been kindly provided by the Burgundy Grapes.
The European Parliament elections held in Greece on June 9 produced a few surprises, some of which could be significant for the country's political scene over the next few months and years.
The ruling centre-right party, New Democracy, performed worse than opinion polls had suggested and fell below the bar set by its leader, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The main opposition parties, leftist SYRIZA and socialist PASOK, had mixed nights but failed to make any major progress, raising questions about what the future holds for the Greek centre-left.
The far right appeared to be the major beneficiary of the voting patterns in these elections, but a closer inspection of the numbers tells a more complicated story.
MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou step into The Agora to discuss the twists and turns produced by this vote, which was marked by a record low turnout.
Useful reading
Greece’s centre-right wins but with heavy losses - Euractiv
Greek PM hints at cabinet reshuffle after EU vote disappointment - Reuters
Where did all the far-right votes in the EU, but also in Greece, come from? - Kathimerini
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Greece is preparing to welcome a record number of tourists again this year, but their visits will take place against a backdrop of growing concern among locals about the damage being done to the islands and their way of life by rapid development.
Greek policy makers face a dilemma over how to balance the growth and job creation provided by tourism, a vital industry for the local economy, against the fear that going down this path too fast and too far is ultimately unsustainable.
Journalist Yannis Palaiologos joins us on The Agora to discuss these issues. Yannis is part of the team behind the Sustainable Cyclades media project, which has been reporting on the impact that overtourism and development has been having on the Aegean islands and their residents.
Useful reading
Sustainable Cyclades
Local Greeks pushed out as mass tourism takes over Athens - France 24
'Without rules we cannot live’: Greece seeks ways to tackle ‘overtourism’ - Al Jazeera
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After going through a really difficult time during the country’s long economic crisis, the Greek property market is booming, but that's creating a whole new set of problems.
High rental and purchase prices are pricing out much of the local population as foreign investors snap up apartments and entire buildings in pursuit of profits.
Host Nick Malkoutzis is joined by Stelios Bouras, a journalist who covers real estate and other economic issues for the Business Daily, to discuss a range of issues linked to the new conditions in the housing market - rising prices, a revival of construction and the much-debated Golden Visa scheme.
Useful reading
Inside one of Europe’s last golden visa programmes and what’s set to change - EuroNews
Local Greeks pushed out as mass tourism takes over Athens - France24
What is driving the Greek housing market's recovery? - MacroPolis
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In the wake of the Covid pandemic, the European Union launched the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - a package of around 700 billion euros to help member states recover from the economic impact and build for the future.
Greece's portion of these funds is considered vital for the country's efforts to overcome the effects of its long economic crisis, as well as the disruption caused by the pandemic.
The Greek government dubbed its RRF-related scheme "Greece 2.0", claiming it would help transform the country.
A couple of years in, how is Greece 2.0 performing? Has it had a transformative effect? How much money is Greece absorbing and where is it being invested?
These are some of the questions that Nick Malkoutzis and MacroPolis features editor Georgia Nakou attempt to answer in this episode.
Useful Reading
MacroPolis - Great Expectations: Is Greece 2.0 hitting the target?
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Phoebe and Nick are back to examine the contrasting images of Greece abroad and how they sit side by side.
A few months ago, rating agencies started to restore the investment grade for Greece's sovereign debt - more than a decade after it was lost. It was a reflection of the growing confidence that markets have in the political situation, the government's policy choices and the country's prospects.
However, while this has been happening, there has been growing concern about the rule of law and effectiveness of justice in Greece. There have been several debates about these issues in the European Parliament, while rights groups have also raised the alarm.
The Agora spoke to Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of political risk advisory at Teneo, to discuss why investors feel they can trust Greece again and how this renewed faith can sit alongside the complaints about transparency and accountability.
Useful links
Greece is investment grade again – why it matters to keep it - ESM
Parliament concerned about very serious threats to EU values in Greece - European Parliament press release
2023 Rule of Law Report - European Commission
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In February 2023, a freight train and a train carrying dozens of passengers crashed in Tempe, central Greece, killing 57 people. A year on from Greece's deadliest train accident, many questions remain unanswered and doubts are growing about whether the truth will ever come to light regarding what caused the disaster.
Opposition parties and relatives of the victims, many of whom were university students, feel that the Greek authorities are preventing a proper investigation into the incident, while also dodging their responsibility.
In fact, an opinion poll (Alco) published just after this episode was recorded indicated that 77 pct of Greeks feel there is a cover-up going on, while just 11 pct think there is no question of political responsibility.
Phoebe and Nick summarise what we know about the accident and its aftermath, while Nektaria Stamouli, Politico's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent and Kathimerini English Edition deputy editor, joins us on The Agora to discuss why there are such strong concerns about a cover-up and what implications this has.
Useful links
Trauma (audio documentary) - IMEdD
Greece rejected EU prosecutor’s call for action against 2 ex-ministers after rail crash - Politico
A year after Greece’s worst train disaster, railway safety fears persist - Reuters
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Five years ago SYRIZA was in power in Greece, but it is currently languishing in third place in the opinion polls and the nascent leadership of Stefanos Kasselakis is being constantly buffeted by internal disputes.
In this episode, Phoebe Fronista and Nick Malkoutzis set out how the left-wing party ended up in this uncomfortable position. Nick also speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou about Kasselakis's unusual approach and the recent stormy party conference, which almost resulted in another leadership contest.
Useful links
Kassalekis goes from blank canvas to empty vessel, blowing open progressive space - MacroPolis
The modern left for progressive governance - LSE Hellenic Observatory
Greece’s New Political Star Is a TikTok Creation - Wired
He’s Gone From Miami, to Celebrity, to Upending Greek Politics - New York Times
Greece’s main opposition party cracks up some more - Politico
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Phoebe Fronista and Nick Malkoutzis return after a prolonged absence to discuss what's behind Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's political dominance in Greece and whether things are more complex than they look.
Their discussion was prompted by a piece Nick wrote recently for The Agora on MacroPolis's website after listening to Mitsotakis speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the Greek PM shed light on the political strategy that has helped his centre-right New Democracy party comfortably see off its opponents.
As Nick and Phoebe discuss, this success cannot be separated from the Greek context because serious problems with the opposition, media and institutions have provided Mitsotakis with considerable assistance.
Useful reading
Rule of Law and Media Freedom in Greece - European Parliament
Stemming the Tide of Greek Media Freedom Decline - MFRR
Corruption Perceptions Index (Greece) - Transparency International
A Greek form of Triangulation - MacroPolis
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This episode of The Agora involves a departure from our normal format as we mark 10 years since MacroPolis was launched.
During that time, so much has happened in Greece: The debt crisis, political turmoil, social upheaval, the migration crisis, diplomatic breakthroughs and impasses, and natural disasters.
So, with the help of 10 friends and colleagues, we looked back on their most memorable moments of the last decade in Greece.
Thanks to Alexandra Voudouri, Georgia Nakou, Omaira Gill, Jens Bastian, Marcus Walker, Yiannis Palaiologos, Megan Greene, Joanna Kakissis, Nikos Skoutaris and Mariangela Paone for taking part in this episode and providing such a rich and diverse array of recollections.
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Storm Daniel hit Greece in early September, leading to almost 20 deaths and widespread destruction, as well as recriminations about whether there had been sufficient warnings and anti-flood works.
The villages and communities of Mount Pelion were among the worst affected by the extreme weather. Tourists and locals lost their lives, infrastructure was damaged, buildings were demolished and businesses had to close.
To start of series 5 of The Agora, we spoke to Joel von Trapp, an American architect who has been living and working in Pelion for many years. Joel spoke to us about how the area, which is also a popular tourist destination, has been coping in the aftermath of the storm.
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For our final episode of the fourth series of The Agora, we take a look at what is happening just across the Aegean from Greece, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is back for a third term and already prompting questions about whether he is shifting his foreign policy.
In the wake of the recent NATO summit, where he withdrew objections to Sweden joining the military alliance, but also seemed to gain concessions, especially in relation to the supply of F-16 jets from the USA, analysts are trying to work out what we can expect from the Turkish leader.
This issue is very relevant to Greece as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has indicated that he wants to engage in meaningful talks with Ankara, aiming to even settle longstanding disputes between the two neighbours.
To get a better understanding of what Erdogan is thinking and how he is likely to operate, The Agora co-host Nick Malkoutzis spoke to Ilhan Uzgel, a former professor of International Relations at Ankara University and currently a foreign policy analyst and commentator in Turkey.
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On the night of June 14, a fishing boat called the Adriana, packed with hundreds of migrants who had paid traffickers to get them from Libya to Italy, sank in the deep waters of the Mediterranean, about 90 kilometers southwest of the town of Pylos in the Peloponnese.
It was one of the worst tragedies of its kind ever witnessed in Greece and Europe. What makes the Pylos shipwreck such a standout case, though, is that it seems this tragedy could have been avoided.
A series of reports by international and local media suggest that the Greek coast guard, and possibly the EU border agency, Frontex, could have done more to prevent so many people drowning.
The Agora spoke to independent journalist Lydia Emmanouilidou, who has been covering the story, to find out what survivors told her and to discuss how and why the ship sank and what questions that has raised about how the authorities responded.
We also hear from Valentina Brinis, a project manager at Open Arms, which is an NGO based in Barcelona that uses its own vessel to save migrants in distress in the Mediterranean.
Useful reading
Everyone Knew the Migrant Ship Was Doomed. No One Helped - The New York Times
Greek shipwreck: hi-tech investigation suggests coastguard responsible for sinking - The Guardian
Greek coastguard 'pressured' disaster survivors to blame Egyptian men - BBC News
Italy warned of dead children on migrant ship hours before it capsized - Politico
Greece to the EU: Come help stop migrant boats before they get here - Politico
Migrant crossings in Mediterranean leave thousands dead - Reuters
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At the second time of asking, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been re-elected as the Greek Prime Minister and his centre-right New Democracy party has won a second term in office.
The June 25 elections saw the conservatives cruise to an eight-seat majority in Parliament as the collapse of their main rival, left-wing SYRIZA, continued.
However, the results were notable for the emergence of three fringe parties, two on the far right. They managed to pass the 3 pct threshold for electing MPs to take the total number of groupings in Greek Parliament to eight.
In this episode of The Agora, co-host Nick Malkoutzis and MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis discuss what the result means for how Mitsotakis will govern over the next four years, where it leaves SYRIZA and the third party, centre-left PASOK, why the far right is back and how the fringe parties could impact policy making in Greece.
Useful reading
Greece’s conservatives win election majority to secure second term - https://www.politico.eu/article/greece-election-new-democracy-conservatives-win-second-term-kyriakos-mitsotakis/
Greek Conservatives Score Decisive Election Win - https://www.wsj.com/articles/greek-conservatives-on-course-for-emphatic-election-win-d7dc0582?st=rlp7aawlgzm3ta1
Populist Right Finds Fertile Ground in Greece - https://agendapublica.elpais.com/noticia/18682/populist-right-finds-fertile-ground-greece
Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ skills and luck - https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1214127/kyriakos-mitsotakis-skills-and-luck/
Why Greece's Left May Give Conservatives A Smooth Sail To Victory - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/greece-left-election_n_6492a754e4b041b71a12c681
Do or die - https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/do-or-die-6794/
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Greeks are voting again in national elections on June 25 after an inconclusive ballot on May 21.
New Democracy is set to return to power following a big victory last month. The results have raised lots of questions for the main opposition parties, SYRIZA and PASOK, but were also notable for the emergence of some new small parties.
Lamprini Rori, an assistant professor in political analysis at Athens University, joins us on The Agora to discuss these issues with Nick Malkoutzis and to look ahead to what the next four years might look like for the incoming government.
Also, Phoebe Fronista speaks to Kelly Kiki and Thanasis Troboukis, project managers at the media incubator iMEdD, about a project using artificial intelligence to analyse the speeches of Greece's political leaders.
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The national elections held on May 21 in Greece produced a landslide victory for the ruling centre-right party, which posted a winning margin of more than 20 points over its main rival, left-wing SYRIZA.
As the dust settles from this resounding victory for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, The Agora host Nick Malkoutzis gathers with MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou to discuss what contributed to this result.
They examine what New Democracy got right, where it went wrong for SYRIZA and what the coming weeks could bring for centre-left PASOK as it eyes a comeback.
Useful reading
Greece’s conservatives achieve big victory but fall short of majority - https://www.politico.eu/article/greece-election-mitsotakis-new-democracy-syriza-vote/
Mitsotakis needs new elections, SYRIZA a new direction - https://agendapublica.elpais.com/noticia/18602/mitsotakis-needs-new-elections-syriza-new-direction
SYRIZA’s strategic defeat calls for strategic decisions - https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1211639/syrizas-strategic-defeat-calls-for-strategic-decisions/
PASOK emerges as the real big winner - https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1211640/pasok-emerges-as-the-real-big-winner/
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Greece is holding general elections on Sunday, May 21. The vote might lack the drama of previous elections, when the country’s fate was on the line amid a devastating economic crisis, but it could still end up being a rather complicated and tense process.
The Agora returns to examine the key issues going into this ballot, who the main players are, what the parties are promising, how the vote might turn out and why Greece could need a second election, if not a third as well, to choose a workable government this summer.
Hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista are joined by Angelos Seriatos, head of political & social research at Greek polling firm ProRata, and MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and our features editor Georgia Nakou to discuss all these issues.
Useful reading
Extremely complex yet surprisingly simple - https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/extremely-complex-yet-surprisingly-simple-6699/
Past austerity haunts Greek election as voters struggle with living costs - https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/past-austerity-haunts-greek-election-voters-struggle-with-living-costs-2023-05-15/
Greek PM says country has changed, seeks new mandate to speed up growth - https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greek-pm-says-country-has-changed-seeks-new-mandate-speed-up-growth-2023-05-16/
Once Europe’s Headache, Greece Finds Its Feet - https://www.wsj.com/articles/once-europes-headache-greece-finds-its-feet-dbe9b73c
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After decades of making little progress in securing the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, Greece appears to be edging closer to a possible deal for the repatriation of the ancient sculptures.
Last December, Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea reported that Greek government officials, including Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had held talks with the British Museum’s chair, George Osborne, about coming to an arrangement for the Marbles to be sent back.
Further details of what this agreement might look like were reported by the Financial Times recently.
The Agora caught up with Ta Nea’s London correspondent, Yiannis Andritsopoulos, to find out more about these talks, whether a deal really is in the offing and what any agreement would likely entail.
Before that, though, hosts Phoebe Fronista and Nick Malkoutzis look back at the longstanding Greek request for the return of these priceless cultural artifacts, how that campaign has evolved over many years and how it has taken on a political hue at times.
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Recently Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis dismissed concerns about media independence in his country and labelled the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) assessment of Greece as lying in 108th place in the organisation's annual World Press Freedom Index as "crap".
In this episode, Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista look into why Greece has scored so badly in the RSF ranking and try to find exactly where the problem with Greece's media lies.
They speak to Pavol Szalai, the head of EU/Balkans Desk at RSF, about why Greece scores worse than every other EU country when it comes to media freedom.
Also, Yannis Palaiologos, a former Brussels correspondent for Kathimerini newspaper, discusses whether the RSF index provides a true reflection of the shortcomings of journalism in Greece.
Useful reading
RSF World Press Freedom Index: https://rsf.org/en/rsf-s-2022-world-press-freedom-index-new-era-polarisation
RSF's factfile on Greece: https://rsf.org/en/country/greece
A game for press freedom in Greece by Stavros Malichudis: https://wearesolomon.com/mag/accountability/a-game-for-press-freedom-in-greece/
How Greece became Europe’s worst place for press freedom by Nektaria Stamouli: https://www.politico.eu/article/greece-became-europe-worst-place-press-freedom/
A State of Absolute Solitude by Tassos Telloglou: https://www.boell.de/en/2022/12/08/state-absolute-solitude
Greek Photojournalist Nikos Pilos Arrested and Charged: https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107638266
Greece's triangle of power (2012) by Stephen Grey: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-media-idUSBRE8BG0CF20121217
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Since the summer, a surveillance scandal has been gripping Greece. It emerged that the leader of Greece’s third party, PASOK, was being spied on by the country’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) but that there had also been an attempt to install spyware on his mobile phone.
Over the last few weeks, there have been further revelations about the use of wiretapping in Greece. Lists of dozens of alleged targets have been published in the local media, fuelling a clash between the centre-right government and the opposition.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis claims he knows nothing about the illegal phonetapping and that under his watch the Greek state has not bought or deployed the Predator malware that is at the centre of the scandal, which goes to the heart of Greece’s institutions and democracy.
Official investigations into the matter have left much to be desired, while much of the mainstream media has played down or ignored the issue. In fact, much of what we know today about illegal phone hacking in Greece is the result of the persistence of a few journalists at small and independent outlets.
In this episode of The Agora, we try to explain what’s happened, what it means and what might lie ahead.
To help us understand this complex story, we speak to journalist Thanassis Koukakis. He was the first known victim of Predator and spent months trying to find out more about the use of spyware and sharing this information with the public.
We also speak to Nikolas Leontopoulos, the co-founder of Reporters United, a collective of investigative journalists that have been probing the surveillance story from its early days along with other media, such as Inside Story and Solomon, before larger outlets started covering developments.
Further reading
Inside Story
https://insidestory.gr/tagline/spyware
Reporters United
https://www.reportersunited.gr/en/7728/slapps-against-greek-independent-media-solomon-and-reporters-united/
https://www.reportersunited.gr/en/7002/i-am-the-journalist-being-watched-by-the-greek-secret-service/
Solomon
https://wearesolomon.com/mag/accountability/solomons-reporter-stavros-malichudis-under-surveillance-for-national-security-reasons/
https://wearesolomon.com/mag/accountability/solomon-files-complaint-against-intelligence-agency/
European Parliament’s PEGA committee
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/pega/home/highlights
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/pega-findings/product-details/20221114CAN67684
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The leaders of Greece’s three main parties have set out their policies, but also the political parameters, that will define next year’s elections.
So, what are the key issue at stake and what will decide the outcome of the vote, or more likely votes, that are due to take place in 2023?
Co-hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista discuss what we can take away from the appearances made by the leaders of the three leading parties at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September.
MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou join the discussion to look at the political and economic developments which will underpin the election campaign, ponder the permutations that will decide who will govern Greece next and muse about how many ballots will be needed to produce a workable result.
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Like so many other countries, Greece is feeling the impact of the Ukraine war in many ways, whether this is through spiralling energy costs, turbulence in the global economy, a shifting geopolitical balance or the flow of refugees into the country.
In this episode of The Agora, we take a closer look at the reverberations from Ukraine being felt across Greece.
More than 40,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to Greece since the Russian invasion began in February, six months ago. Over a quarter of those were children. Phoebe Fronista speaks to Khrystyna Kobyliak, an aspiring yoga entrepreneur from Ukraine, who came to Athens with her 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son in March to find out more about their experience of seeking refuge from the war in her homeland.
In the second half of the show, Nick Malkoutzis speaks to Wolfango Piccoli, the co-President & Director of Research at Teneo, the global consulting and advisory firm, about the various ways in which Greece has been affected by the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine and how things may play out in the months ahead, especially in terms of relations with Turkey.
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Greece’s socialist party, PASOK, was the powerhouse of Greek politics since the early 1980s. However, the debt crisis that emerged from 2009 sucked the life out of the centre-left grouping. Its share of the vote fell from 44 pct that year to roughly a tenth of that in 2015 as PASOK became a toxic political brand.
Recently, though, the party has been making something of a comeback. It elected a new leader, MEP Nikos Androulakis, at the end of last year and has seen its poll ratings increase to such an extent that it is being talked about as a potential kingmaker or coalition partner in the next government.
In the last few days, party members voted to reinstate the party’s traditional name, PASOK, alongside the Movement for Change (KINAL) moniker it had gone under for the last few years.
With national elections due in the next 12 months, The Agora podcast takes a closer look at PASOK’s return to the centre stage and what this means for Greek politics.
Phoebe Fronista speaks to Irene Kostaki, a former journalist who is now working as a political advisor on EU affairs to Androulakis to find out more about how revitalised the party is and what plans it has.
Nick Malkoutzis speaks to political scientist Elias Dinas, currently the Swiss Chair in Federalism, Democracy and International Governance at the European University Institute in Florence, about the political landscape in Greece, the new cleavages that have formed and how PASOK’s revival fits into the broader picture.
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Following a deadly attack on a 19-year-old football fan in Thessaloniki in early February, the Greek government has announced new measures aimed at reining in hooliganism.
However, we've been here before in Greece. So, will the latest measures actually make any difference or are they just a knee-jerk, ineffective reaction to a problem that needs a much wider, consistent approach?
We start by asking whether Greece's thinking and methods when addressing sports-related violence are outdated. We spoke to Professor Geoff Pearson, a senior lecturer in criminal law at the University of Manchester, to get a better understanding of how this issue is addressed elsewhere. Geoff is an expert in hooliganism, crowd management and policing.
To discuss Greek football's particular ailments, we spoke to Alexandros Kottis, a freelance journalist based in Athens working for AFP and Courier International, among others.
He recently wrote an article for the BBC about the sad state of Greek football.
Useful links
Professor Geoff Pearson's publications
The infinite chaos of Greek football: How the latest hope for change was lost by Alexandros Kottis
Alexandros's "Supporters" photo project - https://www.facebook.com/Supporters-1784346485175846/
Alkis Kampanos, a 19-year-old Greek football fan murdered for supporting the wrong team - The Athletic
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Greece recently received the first six state-of-the art fighter jets it has ordered from France, hoping that their arrival marks the start of an upgrade of its military capabilities, but also an improvement in its geopolitical standing.
The Rafale planes - of which Greece is expecting another 18 - touched down in Greece to much fanfare and excitement. This episode of The Agora examines whether this pomp and circumstance is deserved and how their arrival fits into the broader diplomatic picture.
Co-host Phoebe Fronista was there to greet the aircraft and tells us about what she saw and heard. Nick Malkoutzis speaks to MacroPolis foreign policy analyst Alexandra Voudouri and Yiannis Ioannou, co-founder of Geopolitical Cyprus, about the Rafales and the other key developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Useful links
Greece receives ‘game-changer’ Rafale aircraft from France - Al Jazeera
Greece receives six French fighter jets as part of €11.5bn military overhaul - The Guardian
The France-Greece alliance and EastMed geopolitics - Geopolitical Cyprus
EastMed: A pipeline project that ran afoul of geopolitics and green policies - Politico
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The Greek economy is back in focus on this episode of The Agora as we take a peak at the 2022 budget and a closer look at broader trends and challenges.
MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis provides a whistlestop tour of the budget, explaining its key elements and what obstacles the Greek government's economic plan could encounter next year.
Two men with extensive knowledge of the Greek economy, Bob Traa and Jens Bastian, join us for a broad discussion about causes for optimism, but also reasons to be cautious as 2022 beckons, including low productivity, high unemployment and limited prospects at home for young Greeks.
Bob was the IMF’s senior representative in Greece at the outset of the economic crisis, between 2010 and 2013. He has also written a book about the country's economic challenges (more below).
Jens is a senior policy adviser at the ELIAMEP think-tank in Athens. He also works an independent economic analyst.
Mentioned on this episode:
The series of articles by Bob & Jens for MacroPolis: https://www.macropolis.gr/?i=portal.en.the-agora&t=46
Bob Traa's book: https://www.amazon.com/Macroeconomy-Greece-Odysseus-Journey-Sustainability/dp/B089CSJCL4
Bob's article on migration shifts in the EU: https://www.macropolis.gr/?i=portal.en.the-agora.11150
Jens's publications for ELIAMEP: https://www.eliamep.gr/en/members/jens-bastian/
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In the wake of the COP26 meeting, The Agora analyses what Greece brought to the discussion and how this tallies with the efforts being made on the ground to tackle the climate crisis.
The head of policy at WWF Greece, Theodota Nantsou, evaluates the Greek authorities' actions.
With the help of journalist Evridiki Bersi, we also take a closer look at wind power and why there are concerns about how this form of renewable energy is being expanded in Greece.
First, though, we start with a look back at this summer's devastating wildfires in Greece. Documentary photographer Thodoris Nikolaou tells us what he witnessed in northern Evia, which suffered the most extensive destruction in August.
Show notes:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis at COP26: https://youtu.be/iBvhVsb5WTk
Evridiki's article on wind power for Reporters United: https://www.reportersunited.gr/en/6557/too-much-of-a-good-thing-wind-power-and-the-battle-for-greeces-wild-heart/
Thodoris's feature on the Evia wildfires for News247: Η καμένη Εύβοια είναι οι άνθρωποί της (news247.gr)
WWF Greece's reaction to PM's COP26 speech: https://www.wwf.gr/ta_nea_mas/?uNewsID=4998416
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The outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a ubiquitous figure during the Greek crisis, often making her a target for the frustrations generated by the austerity policies she and her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), advocated.
Some of that is water under the bridge now and her recent visit to Athens was accompanied by compliments and diplomatic niceties.
As she continues her farewell tour, before a coalition led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) assumes power in Berlin, we look back at the legacy of Merkel’s rocky relationship with Greece, during which she dealt with six different Greek Prime Ministers, and where it leaves ties between Berlin and Athens.
Input comes from the head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s (KAS) office in Athens, Henri-Giscard Bohnet, and Christos Katsioulis, who was in charge of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s (FES) office in the Greek capital between 2012 and 2017, at the height of Greece’s economic crisis.
Useful links:
Konrad Adenaeur Foundation Office, Greece: https://www.kas.de/en/web/griechenland
Friedrich Ebert Foundation Office, Greece: https://athens.fes.de/gr/gia-mas/to-fes-stin-ellada
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Greece recently signed two major defence deals, one with France and another with the USA. On this episode, Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista examine the significance and implications of these agreements.
MacroPolis foreign policy analyst Alexandra Voudouri explains why we should take note of these pacts, which include the purchase of at least three new French frigates. Alexandra also looks at some of the criticism about the accords and takes a broader look at the direction of Greek foreign policy.
When signing both defence agreements, Athens clearly had its relations with Turkey in mind. To get a better understanding of how these developments have gone down in Turkey, Nick spoke to Aydin Selcen, an Istanbul-based commentator and former diplomat.
Also, Turkish journalist and writer Mehves Evin spoke to The Agora about the domestic difficulties troubling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and how this may feed into Ankara's actions in the Aegean and beyond.
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Earlier this month, Greece lost one of the most emblematic figures of its modern era, composer Mikis Theodorakis, who died on September 2 at the age of 96.
Theodorakis was a multi-talented and multi-faceted figure who left his mark due to his radical politics and public interventions as well as his ground-breaking music, which blended Greek popular sounds with classic elements.
On this show, we take a closer look at the influence of this prolific, towering figure. Phoebe Fronista speaks to Dr Panos Stavrianides, an entrepreneur, educator and active member of the Greek American diaspora about the impact Theodorakis’s music and political stance had on him and other Greeks living abroad.
Also, Nick Malkoutzis speaks to Dimitris A. Sotiropoulos, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens and senior research fellow at the ELIAMEP think-tank, about what impact Theodorakis had on the public sphere and shaping modern Greece’s identity. Their discussion also touches on whether the composer’s passing marks the end of the public intellectual in Greece, and whether this matters.
This episode also is interspersed with Theodrakis’s music, much of which is played by the Mandragoras group in Frankfurt, Germany and Achilleas and Nino Anastasiades.
Mandragoras: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mandragoras.hannover/
Achilleas and Nino Anastasiades: https://www.youtube.com/user/achanast/featured
More background on Theodorakis
BBC documentary by Maria Margaronis: Mikis Theodorakis Remembered: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct2pty
The Guardian obituary by Gail Holst-Warhaft: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/mikis-theodorakis-obituary
Mikis, a Greek for all by Nikos Konstandaras: https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1167289/mikis-a-greek-for-all/
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The long, hot Greek summer is underway. But will it be like the summers we have grown to love or will Covid-19 get in the way again?
The Agora podcast is back: Co-hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista launch the third season by trying to find out whether Greece has cause to feel optimistic this summer.
Phoebe speaks to the manager of a private beach in southern Athens to find out if the customers are returning and how his business is coping with another summer blighted by the pandemic.
Nick speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis about the broader picture for Greece, looking at the expectations not just for the tourism sector, but for the economy as a whole, especially now that EU recovery funds are on the way.
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Greece has been grappling with the coronavirus for just over a year, sometimes with success but other times less convincingly.
As Greece went past 10,000 Covid-related deaths and prepares to reach 3 million vaccinations this week, The Agora looks back at what's gone right and wrong since Covid-19 first emerged.
Nick Malkoutzis speaks to MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and features editor Georgia Nakou about the policies adopted since last year to combat the pandemic, but also why Greece is coming out of lockdown now and how the vaccination scheme is going.
Phoebe Fronista spends time with health correspondent Maria-Niki Georganta to discuss what stood out from Greece's experience with the virus.
Phoebe also speaks to Dr Mata Tsikrika, the first woman to be elected president of Greece's pulmonologists, who works at a Covid hospital in Athens. They talk about what life has been like for Greek frontline workers since last year and the excruciating decisions faced by doctors and nurses.
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The behaviour of the Greek police has come under scrutiny, again, following a number of incidents over which officers have been accused of using unnecessary and excessive force.
In this episode, we take a look at why police tactics have triggered public protests, what ails the force and how it can be fixed.
MacroPolis features editor Georgia Nakou speaks to co-host Phoebe Fronista about recent events and what kind of political reactions they have stirred.
Photojournalists Louisa Gouliamaki and Nikos Palaiologos describe their experiences with the police at street level while covering demonstrations.
Finally, Pavlos Eleftheriadis, a professor of Public Law at Oxford University who has also dabbled in Greek politics, explains why he thinks the police's problems mirror those in other parts of the public administration and how some, but not others, are being addressed by the government.
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Greece is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its war of independence, which began in 1821 and allowed Greeks to free themselves of Ottoman rule and oppression, and form their own nation-state.
To mark this occasion, we spoke to Sakis Gekas, the Hellenic Heritage Foundation (HHF) Chair of Modern Greek History at York University in Canada. He told The Agora about where the Greek revolution stands in an international context as well as some of the broader themes to emerge from the momentous events two centuries ago.
We have avoided going into historical detail because this is well served by various documentaries, online events and other podcasts that are currently available. One of those is "The idea of Greece", a seven-part podcast produced by the HHF's History Committee and in which Professor Gekas was involved.
For the second half of this episode, we try to move the conversation forward by talking to Kathimerini columnist Nikos Konstandaras about the Greek revolution's legacy, where Greece stands today and what its future might hold.
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On this episode of The Agora, we check in with the Greek economy again to see how it is performing under the pressure of the coronavirus.
MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and the site's economics editor Marcus Bensasson explain what the latest GDP figures mean, what sectors of the economy are suffering and how important the upcoming tourism season will be.
We also take a closer look at a Greek export that is thriving despite the pandemic - wine. Co-host Phoebe Fronista sat down with Markus Stolz, a German based in Athens who has been making a success of exporting local products to the USA.
Markus describes what prompted him to leave the world of finance and focus his efforts on making Greek grape varieties popular abroad. He also explains why Covid-19 has not put the brakes on his business.
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Greece is in the grip of a steady stream of claims about sexual harassment, assault and abuse allegedly carried out by men in positions of power.
In this episode of The Agora podcast, hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista speak to a range of women about this developing story.
New York Times correspondent Niki Kitsantonis explains how the #MeToo developments began and why they are becoming more complex, and political, as time goes on.
Also, actress Amalia Kavali - from hit Greek TV show Agries Melisses - and dancer Katerina Foti, members of a new initiative called Women in Arts (WOM.A) whose goal is to combat gender discrimination, explain what #MeToo means for them and women in their field.
Finally, Dr Elli Siapkidou, an expert on gender issues, discusses what obstacles Greek women face, what advances have been made and what more needs to be done.
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For the last episode of The Agora podcast in 2020, we examine how Brexit may affect Greece's relationship with the UK.
Naturally, we look at what the UK's departure from the EU means for trade and bilateral relations, but we also delve into the impact on studying and living in the UK.
Hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista spoke to Nikos Skoutaris, an associate professor in EU law at the University of East Anglia, about all these issues, as well as his Christmas turkey.
Our second guest, writer Alex Kemp discusses how he left London to discover Greece, its customs, culture and people - all of which he's captured in his book "Here is Greece."
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On a sunny October morning this year, thousands of people crowded outside an Athens courthouse to hear the landmark verdict in the trial of NeoNazi Golden Dawn.
It brought the party's rapid rise during the Greek economic crisis to a halt but did not necessarily signal the end of the far-right's presence in Greece.
Now that some of the dust from the lengthy court proceedings has settled, The Agora co-host Phoebe Fronista speaks to Ioanna Meitani, part of the Golden Dawn Watch team that covered the trial from inside the courtroom, about the historic process.
Also, Nick Malkoutzis speaks to Professor Daphne Halikopoulou from the University of Reading, an expert in the far-right, looks at the bigger picture and explains how Golden Dawn gained such a following and what might happen now that the party is out of the picture.
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Greece has submitted its plans, outlining how it will use the money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF).
The funds that will be pumped into Greece over the coming years should help boost the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Greek government also sees this money as vital to transforming the economy and the country's infrastructure.
Investment in the green and digital transition are at the top of Greece's list, with these two areas set to receive more than 50 pct of the EU grants available to Athens.
Hosts Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista spoke to MacroPolis feature editor Georgia Nakou and WWF economist Olivier Vardakoulias to discuss how much of an impact this money can make and what kind of obstacles Greece could face.
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Over the last few weeks, Greece has not just seen more worrying data on the Covid-19 front, but the forecasts for its economy have also been worsening.
Nick Malkoutzis and Phoebe Fronista discuss where things have gone wrong this year for the Greek economy, particularly in the tourism sector. They hear from a tour operator and hotel owner, who explains why 2020 has been a disaster.
MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and business reporter Omaira Gill look at this year's numbers and what we can expect in 2021.
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Donald Trump may not have accepted Joe Biden's victory in the US elections, but the rest of the world is preparing for a change of guard in Washington.
Greece is among the countries that will have a very keen eye on what the new American administration will bring to the table in terms of foreign policy.
The recent flare-up in tension between Greece and Turkey means that Athens is hoping Biden will be more active in southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, providing more presence and certainty going forward.
The Agora host Nick Malkoutzis and producer/co-host Phoebe Fronista discuss what's at stake before MacroPolis foreign policy analyst Alexandra Voudouri and George Tzogopoulos, a senior fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE), give their views on what to expect in the months to come.
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Amid more pressing issues, the 10th anniversary of Greece's first international bailout went slightly under the radar earlier this year.
However, to round off the first series of The Agora podcast, we have brought together three experts on the subject. Together, they look back at the events of a decade ago, which left a big mark on Greece, and asses the continuing impact of the first memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Host Nick Malkoutzis speaks to Megan Greene, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, Marcus Walker, the South Europe bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, and MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis.
These seasoned Greek crisis watchers discuss, among other things, why Greece had to be bailed out, whether there were any alternatives, what kind of flaws the adjustment programme had and what were its main legacies.
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In this episode, we have returned to one of the first topics we covered so can examine how the Greek economy is coping with Covid-19.
Our producer, Phoebe Fronista, has been speaking to Constantinos Kouvaras, the area director in Greece for the Bacardi drinks company, to get a feel of how things are developing in the real economy. It turns out that the picture is constantly changing.
Host Nick Malkoutzis speaks to an expert on Greek banks, Jonas Floriani who is a director in the research division of Axia. They discuss how the downturn is affecting local lenders, who were only starting to recover from the knocks they suffered during the previous crisis.
In the second half of the show, Nick catches up with MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and the site’s business reporter, Omaira Gill, to find out if tourism has provided Greece with a lifeline or whether the macroeconomic picture is bleak.
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In this episode, we take to the streets of our home city, Athens, to get an idea of what interventions would improve life in the Greek capital.
Our producer Phoebe Fronista speaks to MacroPolis features writer Georgia Nakou about the Great Walk, a pilot scheme introducing pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes to the heart of the city.
The addition has sparked controversy and criticism. Phoebe and Georgia walk part of the route and sit down to discuss its positives and negatives.
In the second half of the show, The Agora host Nick Malkoutzis speaks to tour expert and archaeologist Heinrich Hall.
They discuss why Athens is the way it is and what can be done to make life here better for residents, as well as visitors, without sanitizing the city and losing its flawed, but appealing, identity in the process.
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Usually, The Agora podcast is dedicated to analysing the latest political, geopolitical, economic and even social developments affecting Greece.
In this episode, though, we have gone in a different direction.
Sixteen years on from one of the greatest upsets in sporting history, we look back at how Greece managed to win football’s European Championship in 2004.
A collection of journalists who followed that tournament and had a close eye on Greek football in the subsequent years join host Nick Malkoutzis to discuss how this incredible success was achieved and what legacy it left..
In the process, they also share some personal accounts of those heady summer days all those years ago.
The three guests are: Paris-based sports writer, commentator and documentary filmmaker Barney Spender, the man behind Road to Sparta documentary about the legendary Spartathlon race; Kathimerini English Edition business and sports journalist George Georgakopoulos; and Graham Wood, an Athens-based journalist and communications expert who has covered football for UEFA.com and Reuters, among others.
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In this episode, we're taking a closer look at the Greek media landscape. We'll be asking why the public has little trust in the country's media and examining what difficulties a local independent outlet faces as it tries to upset the established pattern of news coverage.
Our producer, Phoebe Fronista, speaks to MacroPolis features writer Georgia Nakou regarding the controversial 20-million-euro package provided by the Greek government to a variety of media outlets as part of the coronavirus campaign.
She also catches up with Dimitris Xenakis, the co-founder of Inside Story – a subscription-based investigative and long form journalism site in Athens - to get an idea of the obstacles his organisation has to overcome.
Our host, Nick Malkoutzis, has a discussion with Antonis Kalogeropoulos, a Communication and Media Lecturer at the University of Liverpool. Antonis was a research partner for annual Digital News Report published by the Reuters Institute in July. The report suggests that just 28 percent of Greeks trust most news most of the time, which was one of the lowest figures among the 40 countries surveyed.
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On the latest episode of The Agora podcast, we examine Greek-Turkish relations, which are going through another rough patch.
Athens and Ankara being at odds is not something new, but a rising number of issues have been causing friction between the two capitals over the last few months.
In late February, the Greek government decided to shut its land border with Turkey after Ankara gave free passage to migrants.
Turkey has also laid out plans for oil and gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, including in spots that Greece considers to be part of its continental shelf.
Also, there is growing consternation in Greece about the possibility of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, once the symbol of Orthodox Christianity, becoming a mosque again.
Host Nick Malkoutzis discusses all these flashpoints with MacroPolis foreign policy analyst Alexandra Voudouri and Harry Tzimitras, an expert on the Eastern Mediterranean.
Nick also speaks to Spanish journalist Andres Mourenza about the book he recently published. It’s called Sínora (borders in Greek) and is about the border areas between Greece and Turkey and the people that live there.
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For the last few years, Greece has been in the frontline of the migration challenge - at least as far as Europe is concerned.
Having a country with such limited financial and administrative resources in so prominent a role has generated a wide range of problems.
There have been times when Greece was lauded for its efforts and others when it was admonished for failing to deliver.
In the latest episode of The Agora podcast, host Nick Malkoutzis and MacroPolis features writer Georgia Nakou take a look at the latest developments, including a contentious decision to remove several thousand refugees from their current accommodation in Greece.
Also, our producer Phoebe Fronista visits a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Athens to find out what life is like there and to hear the thoughts of the people running the facility.
Nick also speaks to Daniel Howden, the managing director of Lighthouse Reports, which helps newsrooms investigate migration-related issues, about the myriad challenges and the way our societies and authorities approach the issue.
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The European Commission has presented its proposal for a recovery fund to help EU countries stimulate their economies and overcome the impact of the coronavirus.
In this episode of The Agora, Nick Malkoutzis speaks to John Springford and Christian Odendahl from the Centre for European Reform think-tank about what kind of economic damage the pandemic will leave behind and how EU member states might overcome this setback.
Nick also has a discussion with Greek economist and academic George Pagoulatos about what the Commission's proposal means for Europe, and Greece in particular.
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The second episode in our new podcast series looks at how the Greek tourism industry is faring amid the turbulence caused by the coronavirus.
Host Nick Malkoutzis speaks to a specialist on the subject, Eleftheria Pantziou of Greek Travel Pages, to find out what the usually busy summer season is likely to entail for hotels and other businesses that rely on visitors coming to Greece.
The Agora’s producer Phoebe Fronista reports back after checking out a couple of places in Athens that would normally be teeming with visitors at this time of year.
Nick also has a chat with MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and business reporter Omaira Gill about the importance of tourism to the Greek economy.
They discuss why simply focussing on what will be open and what the experience for tourists might be like is not the big story. Instead, the spotlight should be on the many businesses and households that rely on tourists for their livelihood and the difficulties they are likely to face in the coming months.
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Our first podcast is on (what else?) the coronavirus. Host Nick Malkoutzis discusses with MacroPolis co-founder Yiannis Mouzakis and the website's features writer Georgia Nakou about how Greece has coped with the public health challenge of Covid-19 and what impact the virus could have on the Greek economy. Producer Phoebe Fronista introduces the "walk and talk" section of the show as she takes advantage of the lockdown being relaxed in Athens to go for a stroll along the seafront.
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The Agora host, Nick Malkoutzis, explains what our show is about and what you can expect to hear in the coming weeks and months.
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