HELBI

As the country’s first citizen, speaking at the anniversary of the restoration of democracy on Thursday, President Karolos Papoulias, in his down-to-earth way, said what everyone says in their everyday conversations: Corruption must be stamped out and those responsible must be named – both those who give and those who receive – with no exceptions.

“Politics must not be seen as a vehicle for personal gain, as a way of achieving the good life,” the president said. “Politics without morality is a dangerous thing that leads to public opinion distancing itself from public affairs as well as to extreme behavior,” Papoulias added.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis with his wife, Natasa, a well-matched couple and the focus of much talk...

...But not as much as Synaspismos President Alexis Tsipras, who is 34 (as old as our restored democracy), who was accompanied by Canditsa Sankio, who hails from Sierra Leone.

President Karolos Papoulias and his wife, May, descending the staircase in the garden of the presidential palace for the 34th anniversary of democracy’s restoration.