Obama pays farewell visit to Athens

The visit by outgoing American President Barack Obama next week to Athens was planned on the certainty that it was going to take place after the victory of Hillary Clinton. And that his keynote speech was to be delivered on one of world's best known locations for the practice of democracy. 

But none of the above turned out right. The Republican Donald Trump will enter the White House in January and Obama will not deliver his keynote speech in Athens where it was originally planned.

The Greek government had been preparing for Obama's visit to Athens with great enthusiasm. Obama's administration has often expressed its doubts on whether the right medicine has been given to Greece by its creditors (European Union, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) to come out of its seven years of economic crisis. The outgoing president had often urged Greece's creditors to rethink how to alleviate the country's unsustainable public debt. And his visit to Athens, this week, on Nov. 13-14, was meant to confirm all that.  

Obama was to deliver a major public speech from the actual location of the Pnyx, a rocky hill opposite Acropolis where Athenian citizens assembled and listened to their political leaders. It's a site of great symbolism for a president of the most powerful democracy in the world!

But, the choice of Pnyx had to be canceled at the last moment "due to security" reasons. Instead, Obama will deliver his speech in a closed location, as yet undisclosed, before a limited audience.

Obama to visit two capitals in Europe: Athens and Berlin

Still, the Greek government is placing high importance on Obama's visit, deeming it highly significant that he is closing his term as president by visiting...