Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
troversy that involved land-swap deals between a monastery and the government, which
some commentators believe to have gone heavily in the monastery's favour, at the ex-
pense of taxpayers. A general election held in October 2009, midway through Karaman-
lis' term, saw PASOK (under Georgios Papandreou) take back the reins in a landslide
win against the conservatives.
The web portal
www.ancientgreece.com
is great for all things ancient and Greek.
Neighbourly Relations
Greece continues to face the challenge of resolving an abrasive relationship with its
Balkan neighbour, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), over the conten-
tious issue of it adopting the nomenclature of Macedonia (a topic negotiated between the
two nations via UN-mediated dialogue). Despite the fact Alexander's home of Pella still
stands in the province of Macedonia in northern Greece, FYROM is still insisting
Greece's favourite son is from their country.
Relations with Turkey these days are more neighbourly. Greece supports Turkey's
steps towards EU-ascension, and is urging joint action between the two nations to man-
age illegal immigration across Greece's borders. However, Turkey is expressing concerns
over Greece's intentions of drilling for hydrocarbons in Cypriot waters, sparking a diplo-
matic headache. Given the desperate state of the Greek economy, utilising natural assets
might be just what the beleaguered country's coffers need to set it back on track.
Sink or Swim
In 2009 a lethal cocktail of high public spending and widespread tax evasion, combined
with the credit crunch of global recession, threatened to cripple Greece's economy. In
2010 Greece's fellow eurozone countries agreed to a US$145 billion package (half of
Greece's GDP) to get the country back on its feet, though with strict conditions - the rul-
ing government, PASOK, still lead by Georgios Papandreou, would have to impose aus-
tere measures of reform to receive these handouts and reduce Greece's bloated deficit.
Huge cuts followed, including 10% off public workers' salaries, but it was too little too
late and foreign creditors continued to demand ever higher interest rates for their loans.
Greece was stuck between a real-life Scylla and Charybdis - to receive yet another
bailout, which was absolutely essential to stop them toppling the euro as a credible cur-
rency, they had to effect reforms that penalised the average Greek even further (pushing
