Alexis Papachelas

We all live in a bubble. We hang out with people who, in general, have the same opinions and habits as us. We are often astonished when we realize that “our world” is not the same as the world out there.

If I had to make a bet, I'd say Greece will be heading into elections by October. The preelection period has already begun. Ministers are acting like candidates, chasing votes and “tidying up.” Only a few are still talking about reforms, and fewer still want to get things done before we go to the polls.

When a previous mayor of Athens, a highly dignified man and politician, had expressed interest in becoming a party leader, we advised him in an editorial in this newspaper to “first collect the rubbish.” The reality of the capital today compels us to repeat the same message, this time addressed to the current mayor.

A deep, anti-systemic current is gathering momentum in the United States. This time around, it isn't flowing to the right, as was the case with Donald Trump's election, but to the left. The signs that something of this kind was brewing were certainly there, as the middle-class became increasingly squeezed by rising prices and lost confidence in the current president.

The asymmetry between what Greece is selling as a tourist product and the infrastructure it needs to be sustainable is striking. I won't get into whether there are destinations that are losing their soul at a rapid rate. Those of us who love the authentic Greek taverna on the seafront and the summer images of a fishing village in the Cyclades abhor the mass influx of tourists and the head waiter with the headset asking if “table 14B is ready.” But we can understand the argument that “this is what the customers who come now want,” and it will take a few years to see who is right – if this new model will stand the test of time and continue to attract those looking for something different in our country.

I've been casting my mind back to life before wagyu steaks and Uruguayan ribeyes. Or even further back, to my childhood and our limited epicurean horizons, without bass carpaccio or ice cream made with edible fibers. We didn't have a choice between sophisticated cuts and breeds back then; it was either lamb chops, beef chuck, or pork chops. A restaurant obviously can't charge as much for a typical Greek dish or a simple chuck steak as some fancy cut of meat.

Greece will need a new generation of Greek-American leaders who can keep the American diaspora vibrant and strengthen its political influence in the years ahead. The importance of this challenge has become clear once again in recent weeks. A country like Greece cannot rely on the influence of other lobbies simply because their interests happen to align with its own at a given moment. Such alliances are useful, even essential, but they are not enough and they carry risks.

Europe is facing a string of massive, almost existential, threats. Where to start? Illegal immigration is growing out of control, as recent events in Spain showed us.

Europe is confronting enormous, almost existential, threats. Where do you even begin? Illegal migration has reached alarming levels, as we have seen in Spain. Even left-wing politicians are changing course because they have realized they are dealing with a real problem, one that could come at a significant political cost.

It is striking how Greece has for decades let Turkey make an increasing number of claims without putting its own issues on the table. The islands of Imvros (Gokceada) and Tenedos (Bozcaada) are classic examples. The Treaty of Lausanne granted them a special status with an enhanced role in local self-government. Over time, however, the Turks used every means possible to expel as many Greeks as possible, without Athens ever reacting strongly, not even when international human rights treaties would have allowed retaliation in Western Thrace. The Greek community shrank but survived, especially in Imvros, thanks to the hard-nosed nature and stubbornness of the Imvriots. Also, to be fair, in the early years of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule, minority schools were reopened in Imvros.