In an earlier post I said summer had arrived on schedule. It now looks as if autumn is trying to match its predecessor on punctuality. The second day of September witnessed a fall in temperature and severe rainstorms. Today (4th September) the weather is beautiful but noticeably cooler. In the wee hours of this morning (5th September), the heavens opened up.
There are clouds on the political horizon too. The Turkish president, Erdogan, has made two tasteless references to the past. The first was a threat to ‘drive Greeks into the sea again’, a reference to and an unconscious admission of the Asia Minor genocide and ethnic cleansing of 1922-23. His second reference – ‘coming in the night’ – alluded to the 1974 invasion and subsequent occupation of northern Cyprus. These threats are probably for domestic consumption, a blatant effort to distract Turks from the daily problems they face with inflation running at around 80%.
Despite the bellicose rantings of Erdogan, life goes on, and a new ferry service between Thessaloniki and Izmir is starting at the end of the month. It will run three times a week, the trip taking 12 – 13 hours. Details here: https://news.gtp.gr/2022/08/26/thessaloniki-izmir-ferry-service-expected-in-september/ It is good news for trade relations and tourism between both countries. The new service is also of historical significance as Izmir (Η Σμύρνη in Greek) was, until 1922, the second most important Greek city after Constantinople in what is now modern Turkey.
Tonight, 10th September, in his speech to open the Thessaloniki International Exhibition (ΔΕΘ), the Greek Prime Minister also made a reference to the past. He said the word No in both Greek and Turkish, which should remind Erdogan and his team of Greece’s heroic resistance against the Italians in 1940-41. His actual words were “Τα νταηλίκια ‘γιοκ’ με την Ελλάδα” – “Bullying? Greece says No.”
One word that irritates me is συμπρωτεύουσα. It means ‘co-capital’ and it is used to boost Thessaloniki’s prestige. It annoys me because there is nothing “co-“ or “συμ-” about Thessaloniki’s status in Greece; Thessaloniki is firmly the second city in a highly centralized state. However, our light shines for a week or so every September when the PM comes to open the Exhibition and set out the government’s stall regarding domestic and foreign policy. In Greek terms, it is as important as the US president’s State of the Union speech or the British monarch’s opening of Parliament. Previous speeches have had immediate effects on the nation’s prosperity. In the mid-80s, Papandreou used his address to announce an immediate 15% devaluation of the drachma. From what I’ve listened to this evening, Mitsotakis (the PM) is delivering rosier news. We’ll see.