• They had one job.
• To proof-read three simple words, making sure that a commemorative plate would be ready in time for the ceremony.
• The ceremony in question was for the official inclusion of the archaeological site of Philippi in eastern Macedonia (near Kavala), famous for its ancient theatre and for being the place where St Paul launched Christianity in Europe, to be considered among the World Heritage sites of UNESCO.
• The Greek Minister of Culture, acclaimed actress and theatre director, Lydia Koniordou, proudly lifted the white sheet draped over a large piece of concrete, revealing the plate affirming that Philippi was indeed a UNESCO “WORD” Heritage Site.
• Oops.
• They had one job.
• As is customary in Greece, whenever such a gaffe occurs – actually, whenever a government official does anything – backlash ensued, particularly in the form of hilarious social media memes.
• The Ministry issued an official statement, claiming pretty much that ‘to err is human’ and that the plate was, in fact, proof-read, but then the wrong plate was sent to the site, because, apparently, the dog ate their homework and there’s no reason for the media to make such a fuss and be such mean bullies.
• Maybe so.
• But maybe the Greek government should just let go and actually embrace this mishap, if not brazenly move forward to own the phrase.
• Because few phrases can describe the Greek government better than “Word Heritage”.
• Playing with words is part of the Greek political legacy, the essence of the political cultural heritage bestowed upon the current ‘leftist’ SYRIZA government.
• Taking words and giving them a different meaning is what Greek politics is all about – even the word ‘Left’, when used to describe SYRIZA seems a ‘newspeak-y’ version of itself.
• Of course, this came in a week in which the Tsipras government – finally – managed to reach an agreement with the country’s creditors, basically caving in to their demands for further ‘measures’ and ‘reforms’ to ensure more funding coming towards Greece.
• And by ‘measures’ and ‘reforms’, we mean welfare cuts, pension cuts, further dismantling of the welfare state and throwing worker rights into the bin.
• Specifically, the latest draft agreement between Athens and the creditors is forecast to lead to a weighted average decrease of up to 22 per cent for currently allocated monthly pensions, something that will affect 850,000 beneficiaries.
• The Greek government insists that implementation of these measures is tied to an agreement on debt relief; a viewpoint that the country’s creditors do not share.
• Trying to pass off this turn of events as positive, the government started talking about ‘countermeasures’ to tackle juvenile poverty and youth unemployment.
• It even used the phrasing ‘positive measures’ – these will weigh in on the side of tax (relief), with changes in ENFIA (property tax) and primarily in income tax (but not before 2020).
• Anyone trying to understand the true sentiment of the government after this agreement should look no further than the words of the Minister of Finance, Euclid Tsakalotos: “We have an agreement over the primary taxes. There are many compromises; there are things that don’t satisfy us, and things that satisfy us. It’s in the nature of every agreement to have compromise; for [the agreement] to include things that disappoint us, not the negotiating team, per se, but the Greek people”.
• Someone should write it on a Plexiglass plate and screw it on the door of the Greek Parliament.
• But make sure to proof-read it first.
