After the storm

Here’s how Greek newspapers look like after a chaotic night of crucial political decisions and extensive rioting in downtown Athens.

Ta Nea (13/02/2012)

Headline: YES by fire and tears

(NB Third photo from left, at the bottom of the front page, is famous Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis)

Ethnos (13/02/2012)

Headline: Historic “Yes” and a storm in political parties

Dimokratia (13/02/2012)

Headline: Burned!

Second headline: With 199 “yeses” Greece’s darkest night begins

Eleftheros Tipos (13/02/2012)

Headline: A night of terror inside and outside of the Parliament

Vradini (13/02/2012)

Headline: Immediate elections is the only salvation due to inconsistency between the people and the Parliament

Avriani (13/02/2012)

Headline: They should walk out before they destroy completely the country

Avgi (13/02/2012)

Headline: The Memorandum is invalid, the people has voted it down

Greek papers describe crucial weekend in panic

Greek newspapers today describe in their headlines the aftershock of yesterday’s resignations and the crucial weekend ahead of us. The general feeling that arises is that of panic. Here’s a quick translation of their headlines.

Ta Nea (11/02/2012)

Headline: Dangerous games on doorstep of the madhouse.

(Funnily, today’s gimmick is a copy of the book of Kama Sutra)

Ethnos (11/02/2012)

Headline: The dilemma is deal or collapse.

Dimokratia (11/02/2012)

Headline: Everything is dismantling.

Kathimerini (11/02/2012)

Headline: Papademos calls SOS amid storm.

Adesmeftos Tipos (11/02/2012)

Headline: Tsunami of resignations.

Eleftheros Tipos (11/02/2012)

Headline: A Papandreou “movement” against Papademos – Venizelos.

Vradini (11/02/2012)

Headline: Greece, zero hour.

Avriani (11/02/2012)

Headline: Revolt in the political parties.

Avgi (11/02/2012)

Headline: Memorandum’s system in decomposition.

Living in Greece at the end of November 2011

I just checked today’s newspapers and they had few exciting headlines. However, yesterday’s front pages would probably cause either panick or depression to a society somewhere in North Europe. As I stood there, watching all the post-apocalyptic headlines, I realized that in some years I will be saying that this is how it was to live in Greece at the end of November 2011.

Firstly, I will begin with the cover of this week’s Economist which has been reproduced, partly or as a whole, by several Greek newspapers.

Economist

“Eleftheri Ora” newspaper, which is a fringe paper that hardly sells a bit above 2.000 copies per day, has chosen to reproduce the whole Economist front page. Oh yes, with no reference at all. This paper is famous for its populist content, full of conspiracy theories, front pages of dead monks whose prophecies are now becoming reality, and so on. Actually I think that a daily translation of the paper’s front page could offer enough material for a separate blog. Anyway, when I think that usually it should be the last one in these posts of translated front pages due to its lower circulation. I only place it first here because of its relation to the Economist’s cover.

Eleftheri Ora

Title: The evil plan of the New World Order’s “Messiah”

Another newspaper which chose to use the euro meteor illustration is Dimokratia.

Dimokratia

Title: The Wehrmacht is approaching Europe

Overhead title: Everyone is talking about the coming financial Armageddon

“Ethnos” newspaper was the only one to reproduce the whole Economist front page, thus indirectly referring the source.

Ethnos

Title: A whole town is sleeping in the streets

Overhead title: Social shock – more than 20.000 homeless around Greece

Eleftherotypia and Kathimerini highlighted the continuing struggle of the Egyptians at Tahrir square.

Eleftherotypia

Title: The extra tax will be paid too by unemployed who worked even for one day (in 2011)

Picture’s caption title: Tahrir square does not succumb

Kathimerini

Title: Suffocation around the euro zone

Picture’s caption title: Egyptians overwhelm Tahrir square

Ta Nea

Title: Run Lucas Run! (a cartoon depicts Lucas Papademos in the body of Pheidippides, the first “marathon runner”)

Overhead title: A 100-day race for the government

Eleftheros Tipos

Title: Last chance for saving the euro

Overhead title: Germany leads euro zone off the cliff

Avriani

Title: Countdown for the euro

ΧΑΟΣ for Chaos

Yesterday was an interesting day, full of political developments and news fever. I thought I should translate today’s most notable Greek newspaper front pages to give you a clue of this mornings atmosphere. But allow me to begin with a French cover which I found extremely to-the-point as well as aesthetically beautiful.

Liberation

No need to translate.

Eleftherotypia

Title: One resignation, an appendicitis and… The King of Chaos

Ta Nea

Title: Greece in spiral

Subtitle: Merkel-Sarkozy: “Come for explanations”

Kathimerini

Title:  The government is faltering, everything is fluid

Dimokratia

Title: Collaborationist during peacetime

Adesmeftos Tipos

Title: Countdown for government and G.A.P. (i.e. George A. Papandreou)

Estia

Title: A triumph of irresponsibility

Aggelioforos

Title: Political thriller

Subtitle: Referendum causes electric shock to Greece, Europe and the markets

Avriani

Title: The international speculators profited billions from George’s decision to call a referendum

Red box in header: The women of PASOK wore trousers

Eleftheros Tipos

Title: He is not leaving, he’s driven out

Vradini

Title: The referendum brings Papandreou down

Ohi

Today is a national holiday. It’s the so-called “Ohi day” (the day of “No”) which is what Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas said to the Italian ambassador on the 28th October 1940 when he asked to let Italian troops occupy Greece. This was how Greece entered WW II and for many Greeks this day is a symbol of independence. It was a tragic irony that the EU deal about the Greek haircut came more or less on this day. And of course this couldn’t go unnoticed by Greek newspapers which, almost in their entirety, used metaphors joking about the proudly negative “Ohi” of the 1940s and the embarrassingly affirmative “Ne” (yes) of 2011. There has also been some war-related rhetoric while the most popular Ta Nea and Eleftherotypia newspapers maintained their pro-government stance by using boring “the haircut’s next day scenario” front pages which eventually didn’t let them make it to this post.

Eleftheros Typos

Title: They said YES to Merkel

Subtitle: Papandreou-Venizelos subordinated to the German attack

Dimokratia

Title: Defeat brings disaster

Subtitle: Greece returns to the Stone Age in a state of occupation

Ethnos

Title: What’s hidden behind the “YES” of 27 October

Aggelioforos

Title: The last chance

Avriani

Title: Banks surrendered to foreigners for a pittance

Subtitle: Greek people is strangled for the next 10 years – Public property is on sale

Estia

Title: Today’s supplement: the 28 October 1950 issue

Subtitle: Ten years after the historic “Ohi”

Supplement’s title: The fruits of “Ohi”

Printed on the day of the haircut

I always thought it was interesting to see and compare the newspaper front pages in a specific day of a great event. So here are a selection of what the most popular newspapers printed in their front pages on the day the Greek haircut was announced.

Eleftherotypia

Title: German tank brings a new Memorandum (a term by which the troika sponsored round of measures have been known)

Subtitle: The Merkel Doctrine: new measures and constant supervision

Vradini

Title: Haircut of national dignity

Subtitle: Greece under custody

Ethnos

Title: The great night of Brussels for banks and supervision

Aggelioforos

Title: Eurozone-Greece: carrot and stick

Eleftheros Tipos

Title: 50% haircut: night long battle between Merkel and the banks

Subtitle: The French and the Germans were deciding while Papandreou was watching

Dimokratia

Title: The government of Memoranda has exhausted all its tricks and is dragged to the ballot box; Elections on the 4th of December

Subtitle: Greece under foreign administration and with even more poverty

Avriani

Title: The Tsolakoglou government has accepted the permanent occupation by the troika

Subtitle: Treacherous submission of the Germans’ puppets

(Georgios Tsolakoglou was a Greek military officer who became the first Prime Minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942)