Yearning for Europe

"Welcome back to Europe!": said with a laugh Msgr. Nikólaos Fóscolos, Catholic Archbishop of Athens over the phone, responding to the greeting of the SIR Europe journalist asking him to comment on the outcome of the Greek elections of June 17. The stakes were – and remain – high. The euro-drachma game was being played on the Greek table, namely: to remain or to exit Europe.Your Excellency, electoral results seem to show that Greece must return to Europe. Do you agree? "Europeanist parties gained consensus, as well as Syriza which, while improving its May results, failed to gain a majority vote. It is likely that a government coalition with New Democracy, Pasok and the Democratic Left party will be formed, which, according to numbers, should be able to ensure stability. A national coalition government would give Greece the stability that has been lacking over the past months".What led a third of Greece’s electors to change their vote since the previous electoral round?"I think the motivation is the citizens’ yearning for stability. The past weeks’ dilemma has been: ‘the euro or the drachma’? Seeing that the drachma could not ensure the wellbeing that everyone had hoped for, electors cast their votes to those parties who ensured permanence in Europe and in the euro area". Isn’t it a paradox that those same parties, New Democracy and Pasok in particular, considered responsible of having led Greece to the brink of disaster, will form the new Government? "It is. And this remains a hanging question. However, this vote highlights the will of the population to have a multi-party coalition. These are the population’s demands also owing to the fact that no political force can keep promises of recovery unless solid alliances are made. Some left-wing parties have already said they refuse to be part of the new Government. Golden Dawn declared the same. We shall see".How do your consider the entry in the new Greek parliament of a right-wing party like Golden Dawn, which is one of the surprises of these elections? "Golden Dawn confirmed the results obtained past May, fruit of the population’s general dissatisfaction, especially as regards the theme of security. In fact, its activists are trying to bring order where the police can’t make it, thus gaining party consensus".The new government signals the beginning of the recovery phase, which, in all likelihood, the EU will make no allowances for. Germany has already said it expects compliance with the agreements made with Europe… "Stability is needed first of all. At present, this is what the EU should expect from Greece. It should be remembered that unemployment rates amount to more than 22% of the overall population. People want stability in order to find a job. Salaries and pensions have been reduced by 40%. Citizens can’t afford to pay all their taxes. As a Catholic Church our burden of taxation ranges from 48% to 52% and we cannot avail ourselves of the government benefits enjoyed by the Orthodox Church, whose bishops’, priests’, deacons’, and employees’ salaries are paid by the State".What do you expect from the next Government?"My hope is that its commitment will focus on ensuring the much needed stability that will lead to Greece’s recovery whilst valuing people’s dignity. The policies adopted by the last governments in office failed to favor honest and loyal citizens, taxpayers and law-abiders. It only favored the wealthy brackets. The poor and honest citizens are always the ones who pay the dues. We can’t go on this way. We need the adoption of measures that will allow people to catch their breath".