You have to hand it to the Mitsotakis government. Greeks are facing sticker shock at supermarkets and gas stations, and the country is facing a housing crisis caused by rising rents and growing demand stymied by thousands of vacant properties staying off the market. Arguably and quite credibly one can argue none of these are the government’s direct fault. Food and gas prices are rising throughout Europe due to severe phenomena triggered by climate change as well as recent geopolitical developments, primarily those centered around Iran. The housing situation is something the current administration inherited. The economic crisis that preceded the ruling party’s ascent to power had slowed down new construction and real estate investment. Meanwhile, properties remain empty because of high renovation costs, aging infrastructure, disputes among family members who are co-owners, and a tax regime that favors unoccupied real estate. The concept of social housing does not exist in Greece, though this would be a good time to introduce it.
Given this situation one would expect the administration’s numbers to be plummeting in the polls – but that is not the case. On the contrary, it is doing well and even finding ways to enhance its public standing. One of them was thanks to the visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The visit had two main benefits for Greece. The first had to do with policy issues. According to Greek officials Rubio demonstrated a strong understanding of Greek positions, regional dynamics, and the nuances surrounding Greek-Turkish relations. He said he considered a Greek-Turkish conflict unthinkable and expressed discreet support in principle for the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project, the so-called Great Sea Interconnector. He portrayed Greece as a partner that offers solutions in defense, energy, and border management. There was also something unspoken or rather something Rubio did not do. He did not combine his visit to Athens with a visit to Ankara. A discreet snub towards Greece’s neighbor to the east judging by the negative reactions Turkish commentators.
The second benefit for Greece was an intangible one, but no less valuable. It had to do with Rubio’s speech on the Pnyx with the Acropolis in the background, bathed in the golden light of the late afternoon. He is the first American leader to use that symbolic venue, and he did so to great effect. Kudos to whoever thought up that priceless photo-op. No doubt others are going to be using that background. After all, an Acropolis background is free to all denizens and visitors to Athens, and that is a huge resource the country benefits from at no cost. One may agree or disagree with Rubio’s invocation of what Classical Greek civilization was and what it means today. One may even have a completely different view, regarding Ancient Greece and its democracy as open to debate and introspection, something that helped it renew itself. But that is hardly the point here. Everyone is entitled to their own view and if leaders want to come and express it framed by the Acropolis, that is to Greece’s advantage. It puts it front and center in the discourse of those shaping the world’s present and future.
While Rubio was arriving, another great leader, Bulgaria’s Czar Samuel, albeit dead for many centuries, was leaving Greece. The Czar’s remains that were discovered at the Basilica of Saint Achillios near the Prespa lakes in northern Greece in the 1960s were returned to Bulgaria. Samuel is a revered figure in Bulgarian history. Samuel ruled the Bulgarian Empire that stretched from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and defended it against the Byzantines from 997 until his death in 1014 and the end of his empire soon after. Samuel died from the shock of seeing thousands of his troops the Byzantines defeated return blinded by orders of Byzantine Emperor Basil II. The late Byzantinist Professor Speros Vryonis, whenever he heard someone exaggerate the virtues of Byzantine civilization, was quick to remind them of that particular incident.
The return of his remains was a longstanding request which floundered on the rocky reality of Greek-Bulgarian relations throughout the twentieth century. More specifically, Greece also requested the restitution of items pillaged from Greek Orthodox Churches by Bulgarian troops during WWI. A deal was eventually struck by the Greek government and in return for Samuel’s relics Greece received 48 of those objects. The Greek Church welcomed the arrangement. Mitsotakis cleverly used the occasion to reinforce Greece’s stance on cultural heritage and refer to Greece’s campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. There was an added advantage to the relics being sent to Bulgaria. The Republic of Northern Macedonia, that has made a series of odd historical claims in the past considers Samuel its ruler because the Bulgarian capital was based in historic town of Ochrid which is in its territory. Thus, a win-win move by Greece and its government.
