ELIAS MAGLINIS

The empty streets of Athens

Saturday evenings and Sundays make you painfully aware that there’s a pandemic, as the center of Athens is like a desert landscape come Saturday afternoon.

A single measuring stick

One side demands that rallies like those commemorating the 1973 Athens Polytechnic uprising against the junta be allowed but are opposed to church services.

30.09.2020 / 21:01

Some Greeks have this persisting fantasy that Orthodox Russia will always be on Greece’s side. It is a very convenient fantasy that is exclusively based on the two countries’ shared religious tradition. It is, of course, a fallacy.

27.08.2020 / 11:04

Entering an era of pandemics

There are more than a few scientists who say that there are diseases that have remained buried in the icy parts of the world for thousands of years now. Climate change and the ice melt, at the poles in particular, may bring them to the surface, “waking up” all these invisible, tiny sleeping giants.

20.08.2020 / 21:13

Summer in the ailing city

The feeling when you look out of the hospital window is that life is out there and it is passing you by indifferently, cold toward your small, insignificant drama. It is as if you have been immobilized in a static parallel universe.

22.01.2020 / 21:03

The Greek 1917

Sam Mendes’ war epic “1917” has captured the attention of audiences and critics alike; it’s also an Oscar favorite. Watching the film made me think about Greece’s experience in the Great War.

19.01.2020 / 00:58

Failures and successes

It is ironic that in politics a smart move can coincide with a failed one. Starting with the second, the government’s admission, by the prime minister himself, that it was actually not prepared to deal with the refugee crisis, leaves an unpleasant taste.

19.12.2019 / 19:09

From 35,000 to 240 euros a year

Recently I was traveling through a provincial town where I met with a journalist at a local newspaper. An old-timer, who had set up his own paper, one of the town’s really experienced veterans, he conveyed to me his deepest concern: The country’s financial crisis had essentially demolished his work.

26.11.2019 / 16:44

Smoking ban: Will it stick?

Greece might be the only country where the smoking ban has triggered so much resistance, transformed into a battle against repression, a human rights issue.

01.11.2019 / 15:11

Investments and wages

I will share some thoughts regarding an issue which is not really in my purview, namely the economy in terms of the labor market. I won’t mention any particular economic theories (I am not an expert, after all) as I am addressing a personal concern based on everyday experience.