President warns Greeks not to take democracy for granted as poll shows 30% think life was better under junta
In a public message marking the 46th anniversary of the overthrow of Greece’s democratically-elected government by a military junta, President Karolos Papoulias warned Greeks not to take democracy for granted.
His warning came as a poll for Sunday’s Eleftherotypia newspaper indicated that 30 percent of Greeks thought “things were better under the dictatorship compared to today.”
“Democracy has enemies, it is undermined and weakened when phenomena such as anti-parliamentarianism, prejudice and racism develop,” said Papoulias in his message, coinciding with the junta’s rise to power on April 21, 1967.
“It is significant for us to honor those who fought against the dictatorship, to remember what went before and to realize that democracy is not a given,” added the president.
The Eleftherotypia poll, conducted by Metron Analysis, suggested that 59 percent of Greeks think the level of security was greater during the junta, 46 percent believe their standard of living was better and 24 percent feel that Greece’s image abroad was superior.
