17 June 2012: Elections, Fires, Father's Day and a Euro 2012 Victory in Greece

This is the Samaras who knows how to make Greece a winner... the other one? 

We don't know ..

Life in Greece is never boring... 

 Between politics, elections, forest fires,
Father's Day and Euro 2012 football, 

there's always something interesting going on in Greece,
positive or negative!

The depression of the past few weeks, the result of our poliical leaders behaving like spoilt children, unable to put the country's best interests above their own selfish, egotistical ones gave way to a feeling of jubilance, albeit temporary...

Last night we got the morale booster we needed!

Ethniki Ellados' 1-0 victory over Russia in the Euro 2012 Football Championship gave us an excuse for celebration and we took it with crowds pouring into Omonoia to rejoice - somthing that is done only if we win something outright, not just qualify for the next round! Imagine how much the people of Greece needed an excuse to celebrate!

In the irony to beat all ironies, Greece may end up facing Germany in the next round.

Today is also Father's Day, another good reason to forget our woes and tell our dads how much we love them! 

Tragically, forest fires made their debut yesterday around Greece, fuelled by irresponsible citizens and boosted by 8 beaufort winds. These winds made it hard to fight the fires effectively from the air. Greece waits for assistance from Italy and Croatia and the dispatch of additional fire-fighting planes as the high winds continue today slightly abated.

The main event which has the entire world focusing its attention on Greece, however, are today's repeat General Elections being held around the country. Nevermind that elections are being held in France too, it is the Greek elections which threaten to bring down the global economy single-handedly.

Spare a thought for the poor Greek voter as we go to the polls to elect a government after almost 6 weeks of dilly-dallying, scaremongering, blackmailing and innumerable barely disguised threats from our so-called allies and friends which culminated on Friday in a post written in Greek in Germany's FT, more or less telling us all, don't vote SYRIZA or else! 

Greeks will go to the polls in a dilemma: do we vote for the parties that got us into the mess we are in today, vote for the smaller parties who are untainted by corruption and cronyness but have no hope of becoming the government,  or vote for the party whose leader has made our allies lose their cool and react in the most inappropriate of manners but whose pre-election policies leave much to be desired, unless they change dramatically, post-election, tomorrow...

The undertainty and lack of any real choice, any real leadership, means that around 25% of the country's voters are undecided and will probably make their decision in the voting booth, not a particularly healthy state of affairs...

Democracy has rights and obligations and that means sharing responsibility. Whoever wins today will have to act in the best interests of the Greek people, acting quickly to reassure them that they do not risk becoming isolated from the world even if it does mean renegging on unrealistic pre-election promises.

Whatever the message that comes out of the polls today is, I hope it is heeded,unlike the elections of May 6 when the party leader's egotism flagrantly ignored the wish of the voters to create an all party - ecumenical - government.

I am confident that the Greek people will choose wisely.

Whoever wins needs our support and we should be there for them if Greece, our Greece, is to go forward.

Let's hope that from tomorrow we will have another good reason to celebrate - a viable government that will work for Greece and her people.

ΖΗΤΩ Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ!!!

Google's Doodle marking the Greek Elections