Costas Simitis

It is widely known that in Greece politicians are afraid of political debates.

PASOK will celebrate on Tuesday the 50th anniversary since the foundation of the socialist party with an event in central Athens. 

The new television spot released today by Haris Doukas, the candidate for PASOK president and mayor of Athens, poses the question: “Can you imagine Greece without PASOK?”

An old and experienced politician once gave advice to the scion of a political family on how, and with whom, he should govern. But the crucial advice came at the end: "You won't rule only with those you want to hang out with and eat sushi in the evening." It sounded a bit shallow then, but over time I realized it is not really. 

The management of public opinion is among the tasks of every government. In a developed democracy one would argue that this management must focus on a continuous and systematic explanation of the government's strategy for the achievement of explicitly stated goals, so as to dispel confusion and remove unavoidable obstacles to policy making.

Managing public opinion is one of the tasks of every government. Some governments understand this process as a necessary, continuous, systematic explanation of their strategy to the country's citizens, to make it understandable and remove any unavoidable obstacles to its implementation. 

How do we measure time? How do we evaluate our era, our history, if not through our lives, through the distillation of our experiences and judgment? Each sees things from a specific point, through different expectations, disappointments, fears and achievements. "Man is the measure of all things," declared Protagoras - the truth is relative, depending on each person's evaluation.

The Greek proposal for a "long-term loan" of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens in exchange for rotating exhibitions of Greek treasures is revealed in declassified letters between prime ministers at the time Costas Simitis of Greece and Britain's Tony Blair.

Greece's former socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis bid a warm farewell on Thursday to former European Commission president Jacques Delors, who passed away on Wednesday, expressing their close friendship.