Greece: Criticism of Politicians During Theophany Celebrations · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

This article is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
In Greece, January 6 is the national holiday of Theophany, traditionally known as Phota (“lights”). Customs revolve around the Great Blessing of the Waters:  a cross is thrown into the water and  people try to retrieve it in  order to receive good luck and blessings. Every year, government and civic officials attend the celebrations, after which they have an opportunity to make official statements on the spiritual importance of the day, along with political and social comments.
However, due to the economical, political and social crisis Greece is going through, this year's celebrations were marked by strong expressions of people's disapproval and criticism of politicians. This came as no surprise, as it happened earlier during the national celebrations of “Ochi” day on October 28, when President Karolos Papoulias  was forced to leave after protesters called him a traitor.
Chalkida, Evia
It happened again this time, when President Papoulias appeared at Chalkida, despite the tradition of going to Piraeus, the country's major port. Citizens booed him, calling him a traitor and shouting anti-austerity slogans, as the following video [el] shows:
A small group tried to reach the dignitaries’ podium, but were blocked by the police. The president departed making no official statement.
Chalkida's police arrested six citizens, three men and three women, and a file was submitted accusing them of “insulting the President of the Republic's honor”. The city prosecutor ordered their release.
Netizens commented both on the jeering of Papoulias and the demonstrators’ arrest, with a large majority in favor of the arrested and against the major public figure's behavior and inaction concerning the current crisis:
Sonia Andrianou: Από πότε διώκεται ρε παιδιά η ελευθερία του λόγου και  της έκφρασης;  Γιατί το άρθρο δε λέει να τον αποδοκίμασαν με τπτ  αντικείμενα ή να τον  πείραξαν σωματικά! Θα τρελλαθούμε εντελώς…
A different view was held by a small minority:
Kitsos stresses that nobody can impose respect on people:
Dimitris Vlachos wonders why the news was reported as if only a small percentage of people openly expressed their disrespect for the President:
The previous day, commenting on an article that announced Papoulias’ appearance in Chalkida instead of Piraeus, Dimitris N. had “predicted”:
Dimitris N. (05/01, 15:41): Καλά έχει να ακούσει τα σχολιανά του, αν και έχω την αίσθηση  ότι δεν  θα πάει ούτε εκεί αλλά θα κάτσει στο προεδρικό μέγαρο….όπου  και να  πάει ο λαός θα καταστρέψει την παράτα…
Secondly, citizens also criticized the fact that the Prime Minister Loukas Papadimos of the interim coalition government didn't have the time to attend any celebrations, apparently due to his workload. A post on apospasma.gr said:
[…]δεν τόλμησε  να πάει στην τελετή αγιασμού των υδάτων στον Πειραιά επειδή  θα άκουγε τα εξ΄αμάξης.
Athens, Attica
Earlier, in Athens, Minister of Education Anna Diamantopoulou was jeered during celebrations at Dexameni in Kolonaki. In this video [el], people are heard to shout “Good digestion!” (usually used after the “Bon appetit” expression in Greek) and “Bring offshore companies’ money back”:
The general disapproval of politicians, especially  representatives of the two major political parties (PASOK and ND), caused once again a long discourse on personal responsibility and the support of current politicians:
Giorgos Kaminis (mayor of Athens) and Anna Diamantopoulou (Minister of  Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs) at Blessing of Waters in Dexameni, Kolonaki. (Flickr user:annadiamantopoulou, CC    BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Maria Kapurani: ολοι  εσείς που βρίζετε τους πολιτικους(και καλα κανετε) την Ευρώπη  και ολα,  αναρωτηθειτε μια φορά, 30 χρονια στη μεταπολίτευση τι έκανα  ”ΕΓΩ” για  την πατρίδα μου για να μην φτάσει εδω? Νομίζω οτι φωνάζετε  επειδή  ξεβολευτήκατε. Μια αγανακτισμένη… με ολους
Meanwhile, however, the news trending on social media was that Apostolos Gkletsos, a popular actor and now Mayor of Stylida town, managed eventually to get into the water and compete to catch the holy cross – noteworthy as he suffers from heart disease. The “importance” given to this fact was humorously commented on on Twitter:
@iokastita: Ο γκλέτσος ετοιμάζεται να βουτήξει στη Στυλίδα για να πιάσει το σταυρό.Το καλύτερο νέο μετά τη μεταπολίτευση.
@Conn_x: Ο Γκλέτσος σήμερα δεν θα βουτήξει. Θα περπατήσει πάνω στο νερό.
The celebration of Theophany also brought out some cynicism and cold facts, for example from Teacherdude and Yns_x:
This article is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.