{"id":2719,"date":"1986-01-01T12:29:00","date_gmt":"1986-01-01T12:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/?p=2719"},"modified":"2022-02-06T12:36:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T12:36:53","slug":"a-view-from-above-the-nefos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/1986\/01\/01\/a-view-from-above-the-nefos\/","title":{"rendered":"A view from above the nefos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Replying publicly to the revelation on television and to the press, the General Secretary of the Presidency explained that while it was the prerogative of a former president to have official cars, it was unacceptable that Mr Karamanlis, as a private citizen, should retain a more powerful bullet-proof Mercedes limousine than the incumbent president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The episode and the official explanation caused some amusement and even greater outrage in the press. The opposition felt it was a deliberate insult to ‘the restorer of democracy’ and it was more widely criticized for being degrading to the office of the presidency itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was but one more episode in a series of incidents which has kept the president under constant criticism by the press. It dates back to the presidential election itself, which took place in parliament last March. That election, won by the majority of one vote whose legality was questioned, and then not by secret ballot as constitutionally required, created an atmosphere of ill-feeling which the subsequent victory of the government in parliamentary elections did not dispel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although insulting the president is legally a penal offense, he has been ridiculed daily, and his wife, having no such protection, is an even broader target. Her supposedly regal demeanor as she sits on her thronelet behind her husband at state functions is said to be incompatible with the ideals of socialism. Even her shopping lists for the former royal palace where the presidential family is now established are lovingly itemized, priced and published. It’s the sort of socio-political chit-chat that keeps over a dozen daily newspapers in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The position of the presidency is made more ambiguous by the repeated reports that the Prime Minister – that is, ‘the president-maker’ – has an eye on the office himself. This supposition has provided a source of inspiration for political cartoonists. One, by example, portrays a child having a tantrum sitting on the presidential chair. The Prime Minister stands before him beckoning, “Don’t cry; I’ll sit there myself and take you in my arms.” Another has the Presidency saying to the Press, “Things are not well between us two.” “Us three!” pipes up a diminutive figure of Democracy. The point is clearly made: if the presidential office itself is debased, the structure of democracy is shaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidency, it is said, should be above politics; it has been subject to criticism that is well below it. With the present severe economic crisis and the unpopular austerity measures which are its consequence, these attacks, once the preserve of the conservative press, have spread to the Left and have now become endemic. The high level of presidential statesmanship exhibited during the last decade seems a thing of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under these circumstances, it was refreshing to have a president in Athens recently who in a public statement evaluated Greece in the context of world affairs in a wise and statemanly manner. The gentleman in question was President Leopold Senghor, former chief of state of Senegal. The occasion was his acceptance of the Alexander S. Onassis Athinai Prize which is bestowed on the recipient in recognition of his services to humanity. Mr Senghor said a number of things (if they were listened to) which might give heart both to those who support the government and to those who don’t. Quoting a president of Harvard, he said, “We notice that students of Greek make good businessmen,” and added that this implied it generated creativity. This might seem to support those who believe in free-market principles and individual incentives which have been undermined by socialist doctrines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand he said, “Greece invites us to create a world of peace because it is a symbiosis of North and South. It is the very significance of the Mediterranean.” This could be construed as an endorsement of a nuclear-free Balkans, integrated Mediterranean programmes, closer Arab ties and even a third road to socialism – all policies dear to the present government. “At the dawn of the third millenium, the nations will return to Athens,” he predicted. This should certainly please Melina Mercouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the rough-and-tumble of what is locally known as ‘Greek reality’ these words were so lofty as to rise almost out of sight above the nefos. But up there, there seems to be another Greek reality, equally if not more true, inhabited by Mr Senghor and many people here and abroad. In this sub-nefos world one tends to ignore or forget this other reality, seeing, in the smog, hardly beyond the tip of one’s nose. Mr Senghor’s words were like a blast of fresh air blowing the pollution away, encouraging us to think a moment about the future of this country in broader, more serious terms. By doing so, Mr Senghor also enhanced the prestige of the office he has held – everywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A month ago the satirical weekly To Pondiki claimed that the Office of the Presidency had sent policemen to the residence of Constantine Karamanlis to fetch-back two official cars which the former president had put at his own disposal when he resigned last March. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-town"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2722,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2719\/revisions\/2722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-athenian.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}