How the world sees Greece
JEDDAH — Prince Mishaal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, received Greek Consul General in Jeddah Dr. Evgenios Kalpydi on Tuesday. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed issues of common concern.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT saudigazette.com.sa |
The number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites in Greece during the January - October 2016 period decreased by 6.5% or by about 900,000 people compared with the same period of 2015, according to data of the Greek Statistical Service.
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Downtown has a new lunch spot. Elia Athenian Grill now is open at Casto’s "Broad & High" development. The fast-casual Greek eatery is centered on its build-your-own gyros and plates where customers pick a meat, sauces, veggies and other accompaniments.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bizjournals.com |
Prof Malloch was interviewed on Greek TV, where he said Greece leaving the EU would be the best option for residents. London: Greece is reportedly considering ditching the Euro in favour of the US dollar in a move that would humiliate Brussels, according ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.deccanchronicle.com |
Last year, 2016, marked the worst performance over the past five-year period for Greece's retain super market sector, which over the specific year saw ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tornosnews.gr |
Greece’s Central Archaeological Council (KAS) on Tuesday rejected Gucci’s request to host and film a fashion show at the archaeological site of the Acropolis this summer. “The particular cultural character of the Acropolis monuments is inconsistent ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.gtp.gr |
Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday had a meeting with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin, which lasted roughly 70 minutes ending at 2 p.m. Greek time. The meeting was held at the German finance ministry and no statements were made afterwards. Mitsotakis is later scheduled to have a working lunch […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
The Greek state budget primary surplus was 1.012 billion euros in January 2017, exceeding a target of 670 million euros and ending marginally higher than the January 2016 surplus of 1.003 billion euros, according to provisional budget execution figures released by the finance ministry on Tuesday. Regular budget revenues also exceeded the monthly target by […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, currently on a visit to Vietnam, left the national capital Hanoi on Tuesday for Ho Chi Minh City, the more populous industrial centre of the country. On his arrival, Kotzias and the Greek delegation met the chairman of the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tornosnews.gr |
Greece: 'Life and death for … Thousands of farmers from across Greece gathered in Athens to protest … that have been occurring across Greece as the Syriza-led government attempts …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
A closely watched meeting in Berlin on Tuesday between visiting Greek main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis and powerful German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble lasted for roughly 75 minutes, with sources from the Greek side referring to a ...
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US and Estonia the other two members that cover 2% GDP limit
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
With five GREEK restaurants located within a mile of Yamas on Abbeydale Road, managing to stand out is no easy feat. With five GREEK restaurants ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thestar.co.uk |
ROTTERDAM: Sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was kept guessing by unheralded GREEK Stefanos Tsitsipas before grinding out a 6-4, 7-6 ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.arabnews.com |
Greek Opposition Potami party leader Stavros Theodorakis reported both "good news" and "bad news" in tweets about his meeting with European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici in Strasbourg on Tuesday. "The good news from ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tornosnews.gr |
Around 2,000 farmers descend on Athens to protest against new tax hikes and pension reforms that are part of Greece's austerity programme. International Condom Day marked in New Delhi
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.msn.com |
Brexit & Beyond: Europe in Flux is The Wall Street Journal’s round-up of news and analysis of how Brexit will affect global business, economies and finance. You can sign up here. MUST READS Marine Le Pen is gaining ground in polls. PHOTO: Alain Jocard ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.wsj.com |
The deal that the government is currently negotiating with Greece's creditors will not include even one euro's worth of additional austerity, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Tuesday, during the regular press briefing. The spokesman was ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tornosnews.gr |
GREECE is in battle over its next debt payment, and this time, if the conflict is not resolved, it could lead to the unraveling of the Euro. Unless GREECE is ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT dailycaller.com |
The standoff between GREECE and its creditors escalated on Tuesday with the embattled Athens government vowing it will not give in to demands for ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
[katy perry heart costume 2011 GettyImages 110395302]Neil Lupin/Getty Images _Mark R. asks: Why do drawn hearts look nothing like real hearts? Who first drew them this way?_ The heart symbol is one of the single most enduring and widely recognized symbols in modern culture. But where did it come from? Something like the familiar heart symbol goes back many thousands of years. Specifically, several pieces of pottery going back as far as 3000BC clearly show the unmistakable symbol. However, in these instances, the symbol is noted to be a simplification of either a fig or ivy leaf, not a crude representation of the human heart, and seemingly, at least initially, not having anything to do with love. Fast-forwarding through history and we find many cultures using a similar symbol, such as depicted in Grecian, Cretian, Minoan, Mycean, Roman and Corinthian pottery, along with many others. In these instances, again, the symbol doesn't appear to be representative of a heart, but of various leaves. For example, the early vine leaf imagery in Greek culture was mostly used to represent Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and ecstasy, among other things. [ivy leaf stone sculpture statue]Public domain (CC0)For a more straightforward example of the ivy leaf imagery having a double, suggestive meaning, in the city of Ephesus around fourth century A.D, the symbol was used to represent a brothel. As ivy is quite long-lived and hardy, it was also prominently seen on early Greek and Roman graves. Interestingly, entirely independent of the Greeks and Romans, Buddhists also came to use a symbol similar to that of the drawn heart. However, in their culture, it was representative of a fig leaf, which came to symbolize enlightenment. However, just because these very similar early symbols strongly resemble the modern symbol for the heart, doesn't necessarily mean this is where the modern symbol came from and we, unfortunately, lack much in the way of direct evidence to trace its early lineage. As such, it has also been proposed that it derived from a different, now extinct, plant known as, "_silphium_", which was used in ancient times as a very effective form of birth control, among many other uses. [greek silver drachm silphium cyrene coin]Courtesy WikipediaThe trade of silphium was so lucrative that Cyrene, the town it was grown in, actually put it on their money. Along with its obvious links with a form of love, the plant's seed pod was stylized in ancient times as what we can now recognize as akin to the heart symbol. Whether these various leaves or seed pod had anything to do with the subsequent symbol directly, it is generally thought describing the human heart as looking like certain leaves may have had something to do with it. You see, though Arabic and other doctors of earlier periods had made leaps and bounds in anatomical study, during the middle ages, much of this was lost or suppressed by the Church. And with autopsies being outlawed, many were forced to rely on the early descriptions of these doctors and nothing else. These descriptions tended to describe the heart in one of two ways, looking something like a conifer cone in overall shape or looking something like an inverted leaf, with the stem as the arterial branching. [roman de la poire heart metaphor religious icon wikipedia]Wikipedia (public domain)As for direct evidence, appearing in a 13th century French manuscript and written by an unknown author, a simple romance tale called "_Roman de la poire_" (Romance of the pear) is now famous for featuring one of the the earliest known images of the heart in a metaphorical sense, where a man hands his heart to his lover. Its shape is likened to that of a conifer cone, in keeping with the known medical literature of the time. Around this same time in the 13th century, the royal banner of the kings of Denmark prominently depicted the heart symbol. In the early 14th century, we also see yet another conifer-cone shaped heart where Giotto de Bondone depicts a heart being giving to Christ in a painting at the Scrovegni Chapel. From here, numerous others began using this same basic symbol, at first with the point commonly on top, and then switched to pointing down like today around the 15th century. During this same period, the indentation in the fat side of the heart symbol started to appear more and more frequently, perhaps mimicking the look of certain types of leaves as mentioned and as many have theorized, or perhaps not. Whatever the case, during the next few hundred years, several things happened that saw the heart symbol's popularity explode. Ironically, though the Church had played a large role in people being unaware of what an actual human heart looked like, it also was integral in the spreading of the heart symbol. Specifically, the so called "Sacred Heart of Jesus" was supposedly seen in a vision by one, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673. Physically, this Sacred Heart is remarkably similar to the modern heart symbol, though generally depicted surrounded by thorns and sometimes depicted on fire. The Catholic Church used this symbol extensively in the subsequent centuries. [sacred heart fire thorns baroque catholic wikipedia]Adam Jones/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)However, as previously noted, by that point the symbol and its use to depict a human heart had already been well known and commonly used by artists and others for a few centuries. It was even used by Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther when he oversaw the development of his coat of arms, "Luther Rose", in 1519, over a century and a half before Saint Margaret's vision. Luther had this to say about the design of his coat of arms in a letter written in 1530: "…I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. 'For one who believes from the heart will be justified' (Romans 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. 'The just shall live by faith' (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the Crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace…" So contrary to what is often said, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's vision was not the origin of the symbol as representing a heart, but certainly helped popularize it with its widespread use by the Catholic Church after this. [french card king hearts 1800s wikipedia]Courtesy Bibliothèque nationale de FranceThe other important thing that happened to help popularize the symbol, and that also predated the Sacred Heart vision, is the late 15th century introduction, and later spreading, of the French card suits, Cœurs (Hearts), Carreaux (Diamonds), Trefles (Clubs) and Piques (Spades). In the end, though religious pressure on the medical world waned in later centuries and anatomical knowledge was eventually spread far and wide, the sheer amount of artistic, poetic and commercial attention given to the iconic heart symbol not only saw it survive, but thrive as symbol for both the human heart and love. Despite that love doesn't originate in, nor does the symbol look much like, the human heart, from the looks of things, the drawn heart representing these things is not about to change anytime soon. _References:_ * _Where does the ubiquitous Valentine's heart shape come from?_ * _How the heart was held in medieval art._ * _La Dame livre son cœur au poète (Earliest known image of a heart in a romantic sense, from Romance of the Pear)_ * _Heart Symbol & Heart Burial A Cultural History of the Human Heart_ * _Devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Nine First Fridays_ * _Did the ancient Romans use a natural herb for birth control?_ * _The History of the Heart Symbol_ * _Heart Symbol_ * _Luther's Rose_ * _French Playing Cards_ NOW WATCH: This Cold War-era technology could safely power the world for millions of years
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com |
The post Opening of the Greek Restaurant «Meze» in Shoreham Long Island appeared first on The National Herald.
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BRUSSELS – The eurozone’s top official said Tuesday that next week’s meeting between Greece and its international creditors will not yet provide a full breakthrough on the country’s bailout program... The post Dijsselbloem: More Talks Necessary for Greek Bailout Impasse appeared first on The National Herald.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Some 2,000 Greek farmers protested in Athens on Tuesday over increases to their tax and social security contributions amid the government’s ongoing austerity…
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com |
A restaurant that focuses entirely on yogurt-based dishes might seem like a bit of a stretch, but that's exactly what will make its debut inside a suburban ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT houston.eater.com |
Some info and most importantly Questions for the knowledgeable people that frequent Rotorheads! 1. There may be a seismic project in Greece starting this summer and running over two seasons. Seismic (as many know, and just as many or more don't) requires ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.pprune.org |
Greece, Cyprus, and Israel have signed a tourism agreement, on the side-lines of an international tourism exhibition IMTM 2017 in Israel on Tuesday, ANA-MPA reported. The agreement is aimed at creating an organisation that will enhance Greek tourism and ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.tornosnews.gr |
GREECE/Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) - The man accused in the death of a GREECE man last fall pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday morning. Omar Quarles ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT 13wham.com |
GREECE is planning to appoint Rothschild to advise on its debts in an attempt to and avert default, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Under the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.jewishpress.com |
The Greek government is working hard and seeks the conclusion of the program review as well as an agreement that will allow Greece’s participation in the ECB quantitative easing program, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Tuesday said in a press briefing. He also cleared out the agreement under negotiation does not include new measures at […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
The evaluation of the Greek plan will not be completed in time for the next Eurogroup scheduled in Brussels for February 20, said Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem, as reported by Reuters. He noted that the participation of the International Monetary Fund remains essential for the continuation of the Greek program. The crisis in Greece is […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
… ago Share Print 0 The Greek economy unexpectedly shrank in the …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
… was kept guessing by unheralded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas before grinding out …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
… trade and investment relations between Greece and HCM City are still … cooperation. Therefore, the city hopes Greece will step up cooperative activities … conditions for foreign companies, including Greek ones, to conduct long-term business …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
… finally picking up. To underscore Greek popular resentment of the budget … gave Greece will not come back, are more optimistic about Greece… and Greece would have to wait longer to get rescue cash. Greece …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
The Greek economy suffered an unexpected contraction … (IMF) have reignited concerns about Greece's third, €86bn bail-out …
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Total abortions reach 150,000 every year
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Depict Greek god of Medusa, Eros and Hercules
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Educators and counselors from Jewish Israeli youth movement Hashomer Hatzair and the Arab Israeli youth movement Ajyal soon will embark on a ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thetower.org |
AMSTERDAM/ATHENS (Reuters) – GREECE and its international lenders are not expected to reach agreement on the country's bailout progress before ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.oann.com |
It contributes about €2.8 billion (Dh10.94bn) to GDP annually, according to the Greek government, and is one of the few industries in GREECE that has ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenational.ae |
ATHENS // GREECE is joining the legions of countries tapping into the growing global medical tourism market. With its temperate climate and medical ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenational.ae |
Greece could be poised to humiliate Brussels by ditching the euro and instead choosing to be tied to the US dollar, Donald Trump’s reported pick as EU ambassador has sensationally claimed. Professor Ted Malloch revealed that senior Greek economists have ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blackchristiannews.com |
Rotterdam - Sixth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was kept guessing by unheralded GREEK Stefanos Tsitsipas before grinding out a 6-4, 7-6 ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sport24.co.za |
Out of all the hilarious romantic movies this generation and others have produced, "My Big Fat GREEK Wedding" came in third place, being the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.12news.com |
Uncertainty over the course of Greece’s bailout negotiations is expected to continue as negotiations look set to continue beyond the end of February, possibly into March. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem revealed on Tuesday that an agreement at the 20 February Eurogroup meeting to conclude the review of the Greek bailout program is not likely. […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.balkaneu.com |
[katy perry heart costume 2011 GettyImages 110395302]Neil Lupin/Getty Images _Mark R. asks: Why do drawn hearts look nothing like real hearts? Who first drew them this way?_ The heart symbol is one of the single most enduring and widely recognized symbols in modern culture. But where did it come from? Something like the familiar heart symbol goes back many thousands of years. Specifically, several pieces of pottery going back as far as 3000BC clearly show the unmistakable symbol. However, in these instances, the symbol is noted to be a simplification of either a fig or ivy leaf, not a crude representation of the human heart, and seemingly, at least initially, not having anything to do with love. Fast-forwarding through history and we find many cultures using a similar symbol, such as depicted in Grecian, Cretian, Minoan, Mycean, Roman and Corinthian pottery, along with many others. In these instances, again, the symbol doesn't appear to be representative of a heart, but of various leaves. For example, the early vine leaf imagery in Greek culture was mostly used to represent Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and ecstasy, among other things. [ivy leaf stone sculpture statue]Public domain (CC0)For a more straightforward example of the ivy leaf imagery having a double, suggestive meaning, in the city of Ephesus around fourth century A.D, the symbol was used to represent a brothel. As ivy is quite long-lived and hardy, it was also prominently seen on early Greek and Roman graves. Interestingly, entirely independent of the Greeks and Romans, Buddhists also came to use a symbol similar to that of the drawn heart. However, in their culture, it was representative of a fig leaf, which came to symbolize enlightenment. However, just because these very similar early symbols strongly resemble the modern symbol for the heart, doesn't necessarily mean this is where the modern symbol came from and we, unfortunately, lack much in the way of direct evidence to trace its early lineage. As such, it has also been proposed that it derived from a different, now extinct, plant known as, "_silphium_", which was used in ancient times as a very effective form of birth control, among many other uses. [greek silver drachm silphium cyrene coin]Courtesy WikipediaThe trade of silphium was so lucrative that Cyrene, the town it was grown in, actually put it on their money. Along with its obvious links with a form of love, the plant's seed pod was stylized in ancient times as what we can now recognize as akin to the heart symbol. Whether these various leaves or seed pod had anything to do with the subsequent symbol directly, it is generally thought describing the human heart as looking like certain leaves may have had something to do with it. You see, though Arabic and other doctors of earlier periods had made leaps and bounds in anatomical study, during the middle ages, much of this was lost or suppressed by the Church. And with autopsies being outlawed, many were forced to rely on the early descriptions of these doctors and nothing else. These descriptions tended to describe the heart in one of two ways, looking something like a conifer cone in overall shape or looking something like an inverted leaf, with the stem as the arterial branching. [roman de la poire heart metaphor religious icon wikipedia]Wikipedia (public domain)As for direct evidence, appearing in a 13th century French manuscript and written by an unknown author, a simple romance tale called "_Roman de la poire_" (Romance of the pear) is now famous for featuring one of the the earliest known images of the heart in a metaphorical sense, where a man hands his heart to his lover. Its shape is likened to that of a conifer cone, in keeping with the known medical literature of the time. Around this same time in the 13th century, the royal banner of the kings of Denmark prominently depicted the heart symbol. In the early 14th century, we also see yet another conifer-cone shaped heart where Giotto de Bondone depicts a heart being giving to Christ in a painting at the Scrovegni Chapel. From here, numerous others began using this same basic symbol, at first with the point commonly on top, and then switched to pointing down like today around the 15th century. During this same period, the indentation in the fat side of the heart symbol started to appear more and more frequently, perhaps mimicking the look of certain types of leaves as mentioned and as many have theorized, or perhaps not. Whatever the case, during the next few hundred years, several things happened that saw the heart symbol's popularity explode. Ironically, though the Church had played a large role in people being unaware of what an actual human heart looked like, it also was integral in the spreading of the heart symbol. Specifically, the so called "Sacred Heart of Jesus" was supposedly seen in a vision by one, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673. Physically, this Sacred Heart is remarkably similar to the modern heart symbol, though generally depicted surrounded by thorns and sometimes depicted on fire. The Catholic Church used this symbol extensively in the subsequent centuries. [sacred heart fire thorns baroque catholic wikipedia]Adam Jones/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)However, as previously noted, by that point the symbol and its use to depict a human heart had already been well known and commonly used by artists and others for a few centuries. It was even used by Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther when he oversaw the development of his coat of arms, "Luther Rose", in 1519, over a century and a half before Saint Margaret's vision. Luther had this to say about the design of his coat of arms in a letter written in 1530: "…I shall answer most amiably and tell you my original thoughts and reason about why my seal is a symbol of my theology. The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. 'For one who believes from the heart will be justified' (Romans 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. 'The just shall live by faith' (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the Crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace…" So contrary to what is often said, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's vision was not the origin of the symbol as representing a heart, but certainly helped popularize it with its widespread use by the Catholic Church after this. [french card king hearts 1800s wikipedia]Courtesy Bibliothèque nationale de FranceThe other important thing that happened to help popularize the symbol, and that also predated the Sacred Heart vision, is the late 15th century introduction, and later spreading, of the French card suits, Cœurs (Hearts), Carreaux (Diamonds), Trefles (Clubs) and Piques (Spades). In the end, though religious pressure on the medical world waned in later centuries and anatomical knowledge was eventually spread far and wide, the sheer amount of artistic, poetic and commercial attention given to the iconic heart symbol not only saw it survive, but thrive as symbol for both the human heart and love. Despite that love doesn't originate in, nor does the symbol look much like, the human heart, from the looks of things, the drawn heart representing these things is not about to change anytime soon. _References:_ * _Where does the ubiquitous Valentine's heart shape come from?_ * _How the heart was held in medieval art._ * _La Dame livre son cœur au poète (Earliest known image of a heart in a romantic sense, from Romance of the Pear)_ * _Heart Symbol & Heart Burial A Cultural History of the Human Heart_ * _Devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Nine First Fridays_ * _Did the ancient Romans use a natural herb for birth control?_ * _The History of the Heart Symbol_ * _Heart Symbol_ * _Luther's Rose_ * _French Playing Cards_ NOW WATCH: This Cold War-era technology could safely power the world for millions of years
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com |
More than 1,000 of different magnitude were registered within a week in a very small section in western Turkey across from the Greek island of Lesbos, reported the European Seismological Centre (EMSC). Turkish media referred to the event as a “Seismic storm” and the Mayor of Ankara insisted that authorities check whether there isn’t a “seismic ship” sent to the region by Fethullah Gulen in order to cause a disaster and economic collapse. EMSC is baffled by the frequency of seismic activities and reported that, since February 6 alone, they have registered: - 4 earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more - 16 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or more - 126 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more - 967 earthquakes of magnitude 2 or more
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.novinite.com |
Donald Trump’s trans-Atlantic strategy seems to be to make Europe crater again. The first transition call with European Union officials that began with the question of which country would leave next was no faux pas. Trump’s likely ambassador to the European Union, Ted Malloch, has likened the EU to the Soviet Union, adding “maybe there is another union that needs a little taming.” He also said he would “short the euro.” And then Peter Navarro, the head of the president’s new National Trade Council, indulged in accusations of currency manipulation ― not against the pegged Chinese yuan, but the free-floating euro. The new administration’s mood permeates the commentariat: following a harrowing 2016, most observers approach 2017’s minefield of European elections with PTSD (Post-_Trump_ Stress Disorder). Whether it is in the Netherlands, France or Italy, they see populism coming to power everywhere. Similarly, Brexit supporters ― including several within Theresa May’s cabinet ― not so secretly hope for a new European crisis to vindicate Britain’s electorate, without the difficulties inherent in leaving the world’s largest market. And yet, the cumulative outcome of this year’s European elections will most likely vindicate the electoral center. The immediate future looks more consistent with a framework of a “reverse domino” against populism rather than the stuff of Steve Bannon’s dreams. Despite the press coverage, the Netherlands’s March election is unlikely to propel Geert Wilders’s extremist Freedom Party to power. True, the so-called “Dutch Donald Trump” has surged in popularity since the refugee crisis, but his numbers have begun to shift downward as the election approaches. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has become tougher on immigration, threatening Wilders’s key electoral promise. To be fair, there is not much else ― the party’s full program fits on a single page. Even if Wilders were to come ahead, other relevant parties will not join a coalition that includes his extremist, xenophobic Freedom Party; they have all vowed to avoid it. So a new term for Rutte is more likely than not. Shortly after the Dutch election comes the main course of 2017: France. If you go by the Anglo-American press (and the Kremlin-sponsored echo chamber), it would seem like Marine Le Pen and her National Front will crown a triptych of spectacular populist victories that began with Brexit and continued with Trump. But the reality is that Le Pen is nowhere closer to the presidency than her father was 15 years ago, when he reached the second round of the French presidential elections, only to be humiliated by Jacques Chirac. For months, it has been clear Le Pen is likely to win the first round, thus qualifying for the _ballotage_. This is because she will run with a devoted base in an atomized field with at least six other candidates. But in a second round against only one other candidate, she is running miles behind. Every single other plausible candidate would beat her. Moreover, her approval ceiling is below her father’s was in 2002. French elections are never dull: the center-left selected a candidate, Benoît Hamon, who describes himself as a “socialist from the future” eager to tax robots and automation. The (formerly) front-running center-right candidate, François Fillon, has been embroiled in a maelstrom of scandals related to influence-peddling and nepotism. This cocktail of extremism and scandal provides an opening for the centrist Emmanuel Macron, a pro-European independent who has impressive momentum. Both Fillon and Macron would comfortably beat Le Pen in a second round; indeed, the latter would trounce her by almost 30 percent. Although there are currently no scheduled elections in Greece or Italy, both countries appear to be headed toward polling booths this year. In the former, populist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras might take advantage of yet another impasse with European creditors to rally his base rather than press ahead with structural reforms. But this Tsipras is far different than the one that toyed with “Grexit” in 2015; he is an electorally spent force with crashing popularity. Whenever elections are held, he is likely to lose power against his pro-European reformist rival, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Take heed: the coming Greek political transition looks to be away from populism and toward growth-enhancing reforms. After the traumatic experience of Italy’s referendum back in December, a new electoral system is currently being negotiated. Former comedian Beppe Grillo would love to be Italy’s Trump, yet the original Italian political disrupter ― Silvio Berlusconi ― is likely to be kingmaker in a new centrist coalition led by none other than Matteo Renzi. Although Renzi lost the December referendum, the party he leads is still the most popular ― and it has led most polls published this year. Grillo’s Five Star Movement remains unable to get much higher than 30 percent of the vote in most polls, and any alliance with extreme right-wingers is likely to undermine both his message and his base. Last but certainly not least, there is Germany, where Angela Merkel is running for yet another term. Even if the populists from the right-wing Alternative for Germany party steal the headlines, with around 12 percent of the vote in recent polls, they are not the real story. The Social Democrats’ new candidate, Martin Schulz, is an experienced pro-European who propelled his party ahead of Merkel’s in the latest polls. He could attempt to form an anti-Merkel coalition, even if he comes in second in this year’s election. But Germany is safe from populists on either end of the political spectrum. Europe’s 2017 may well be tempestuous, but it will not be tragic. Indeed, the continent’s multiple electoral tests are likely to yield more, rather than less, pro-European governments than we have today. Indeed, with Rutte, Macron, Renzi, Mitsotakis and Schulz in power, Europe will have its best opportunity yet to agree on a fiscal and political union to bolster its imperfect monetary union. So Trump’s team should not hold its breath waiting for a meltdown of European unity. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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ATHENS – Men occupy the majority of senior positions in the hierarchy of the education ministry and Greece’s education administration system, based on the data supplied by the education ministry... The post Greek Education Administration Male-dominated, Data Reveal appeared first on The National Herald.
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