Thought

ABV and Movement 21 will sign an official political agreement for the next parliamentary elections.

It is expected that the leaders of the two formations will be co-chairpersons of the future coalition.

Last year was marked by two biggest threats to global democracy - populism and authoritarianism.

That is stated in the annual survey of the U.S. NGO Freedom House, entitled, “Populists and Autocrats: The Dual Threat to Global Democracy.”

Years of widening inequality, economic hardship and stagnant social mobility have contributed to a populist backlash of destructive ferocity. As the liberal order watches inanely on - gawping with consternation and impotence - the question is: Should we really be surprised?

MP Ilchan Achmet announced Friday he was leaving the centrist To Potami party.

The move leaves the party of Stavros Theodorakis with seven deputies.

In a statement Achmet said he believed in the creation of a big centrist party informed by the values of democracy and social justice that would serve the need for reforms in the country.

'What Is Populism?' by Jan-Werner Müller (University of Pennsylvania Press, 136 pages, $20)

A march under the slogan Stop the Destruction of Poland was organised on the day when people commemorate the 35th anniversary of the introduction of martial law by the communist regime in 1981, reported BNT.

The demonstration is organised by the Committee for the protection of democracy created in reaction to the policy of the governing Law and Justice Party.

Philosopher and Professor İonna Kuçuradi is the Writer of Honor of this year's TÜYAP Book Fair in Istanbul. Information on Kuçuradi's life and work is presented in the special related book prepared by Faruk Şüyün. The book is formed as a series of questions and answers, and is titled: "In Pursuit of Human Values - Persistently and with Hope - İonna Kuçuradi."

As self-styled anarchists scale up their activities in Athens, anarchist group Rouvikonas (Rubicon) on Tuesday called for protests during a scheduled visit to Greece on November 15 by US President Barack Obama.

'On Extremism and Democracy in Europe' by Cas Mudde (Routledge, 163 pages, £45)

The ratification by Parliament of a bill for the privatization of the former airport plot at Elliniko, on the southern coast of Athens, is a very positive development, and particularly so as it was backed by a significant majority of MPs.