Greek president must reconcile high expectations and falling quality of life

Greece's president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, elected in 2020, is gradually changing the role and perception of the presidency, which up to now has been largely symbolic and ceremonial.

The office has almost exclusively been occupied by former government ministers from one of the two main political parties. A major sign of change came last month when Sakellaropoulou headed the memorial parade “Never Again: Thessaloniki-Auschwitz” commemorating the Nazi removal of the city’s Jewish population.

Where previous heads of state and other politicians have attended the parade, it was Sakellaropoulou’s decision to actually walk at its head that indicated her intention not to stand on the ceremonial sidelines.

Later in March, Sakellaropoulou, at a dinner given in her honour at Athens's Onassis Cultural Centre, spoke forcefully about the Russian invasion of Ukraine: "It is not just about geostrategic might. It is also a direct and dramatic conflict of values, between freedom and authoritarianism."

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Since her election, Sakellaropoulou has, perhaps predictably, championed the role of women

Commenting on this, Antonis Manitakis, a former minister and professor of constitutional law, observed that the president "had introduced a radical change to the institution's symbolic role by smashing certain stereotypes". Her intervention, he argued, "unifies the Us with the Others".

The choice of Sakellaropoulou for president was in itself a smashing of stereotypes: the first female president in a country still markedly patrilinear, she was not a politician but president of the country’s supreme court. It is also significant that she is divorced and lives with her current partner.

It was a brave nomination on the part of the otherwise conservative prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Since her election, Sakellaropoulou has, perhaps predictably, championed the role of women: at her inauguration she stated: "It is time for the women of this country to realise that they can attain their dreams, on their own merits, without facing obstacles simply because they were born women."

The two Marys

This reminds us of the ground-breaking presidencies of Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese in Ireland, setting an agenda for an inclusive, cherishing society. With "Us and the Others" becoming increasingly divisive worldwide, Sakellaropoulou is very much operating in that area of thought and concern.

President Michael D Higgins, on his two official visits to Greece in 2018 and 2019, demonstrated his preparedness to speak on behalf of smaller nations on ethical issues that bordered on the political. It was certainly viewed by politicians here as an act of wise friendship, and it is possible that his speeches may have given Sakellaropoulou a persuasive example of a head of state prepared to speak on ethical issues. (They have met since then, at the annual "Arraiolos" meeting of EU presidents, held last year in Rome, where heads of democratic states speak informally about their views for the future of Europe.)

Since her inauguration, Sakellaropoulou has pointed to the growing inequalities within Greek society, which is highlighted by the fact that almost 30 per cent of Greek people live under, or close to, the poverty line, a line that is threatened by the rapidly increasing cost of living where little discretionary spending is available to the vast majority on (by Irish standards) meagre take-home pay.

On a related issue, it has been officially acknowledged by the country's minister for tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, that tourism accounts for 25 per cent of Greek GDP. This contrasts with the previous official statistic of 20 per cent and is explained partly by increasing tourist numbers and spending, and partly by the shrinking of other sectors of the economy.

Tourism, from luxury cruise ships, one-stop resortotels, smaller hotel enterprises and Airbnb, to self-starter tourists and backpackers, permeates Greek society.

High expectations

It has also been maintained for decades that tourism accounts for 20 per cent of the Greek workforce, which is another statistic in serious need of updating: during the season (from March to November) in tavernas, bars and smaller hotels, every family member, from young kids through to elderly grannies, is involved in some aspect of tourism: waiting a table, washing dishes, driving taxis, handcrafting traditional goods. It underlines the essential contribution of tourism not only financially but throughout the fabric of Greek life and its contact with cultures elsewhere.

Sakellaropoulou is concerned that some Greeks have zero 'quality of life'

The new aspect to the presidency and the official statistics on tourism may not seem to have much in common. But Sakellaropoulou has proclaimed Greece as “a high-expectations society”, and, especially following 10 years of crippling hardship and the Covid pandemic, an economy in recession is likely to increase the inequalities she has complained of.

Tourism, climate change and its environmental impact in the form of lethal forest fires, the long-term fallout from the Ukraine crisis and social imbalances are inter-related factors affecting the Greek quality of life, and Sakellaropoulou is concerned that some Greeks have zero “quality of life”. Greek life in all its forms is in need of the radical approach to ethics Sakellaropoulou represents.