A day after he was elected to the leadership of the Movement for Change (KINAL) coalition, Nikos Androulakis has pledged to “reconstruct the center left” in Greece.
Speaking at the offices of PASOK, Androulakis said that Greece “needs a strong voice of progress and pragmatism; a strong social democratic voice.”
“We have a lot of work to do, starting today,” the EU lawmaker said. “We must move to an era where citizens believe that parties can give solutions [to their problems].”
Androulakis defeated former prime minister George Papandreou in Sunday’s runoff vote, with partial vote showing Androulakis won 68.4% of the vote compared to 31.6% for Papandreou.
Leftist opposition leader, Alexis Tsipras, called Androulakis on Monday to congratulate him on his victory.
According to sources within SYRIZA, the ex-prime minister informed Androulakis of his plans to meet with mainstream party leaders to discuss the conservative government’s handling of the pandemic and the pressure on the national health system.
Greece’s President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, also congratulated Androulakis on his win on Monday. Androulakis thanked Sakellaropoulou, adding that Greece can only benefit from a strong social democratic party.
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, attended the Holy Synod on Monday, and met with Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens.
During the meeting, Mitsotakis stressed the need for public health measures to be adhered to at Orthodox Christmas services nationwide, and conveyed the importance of vaccination amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases in Greece.
Currently the faithful have to present a negative COVID-19 test before entering a church to attend services during the festive season.
The Synod also discussed more material questions, including the use of the Church’s estate to help those in need but to also facilitate the economic recovery of Greece.
The two men also discussed the modernisation of the legal framework regulating clerical staff. The Archbishop stressed that all new Church hirings are not permanent, apart from those regularly scheduled, and will not be a burden on the state budget.
At the start of the meeting, Mitsotakis was awarded the Holy Synod’s medal marking this year’s 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek Revolution.
Greek music and food was flowing freely at St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Canberra on Sunday as hundreds of parishioners gathered to celebrate the church’s patron saint.
The day began with a Divine Liturgy presided over by parish priest, Father Petros Kipouros, before people moved outside to a marquee to enjoy a feast organised by the Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra (GOCCC).
All photos copyright: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Available for purchase on the day was a plate filled to the brim with delicious fish, calamari, salad and chips, as well as a plate of fresh loukoumades.
One person who enjoyed the feast was Michael Daly, an Irishman who has immersed himself in Canberra’s Greek community after marrying his Greek wife.
“Occasions like this are fairly important because for those people who came out from Greece many years ago, it’s an opportunity for them to get together and socialise,” Mr Daly told The Greek Herald on the day.
The President of the GOCCC, John Loukadellis, couldn’t agree more. He, along with Father Petros, gave a small speech on the day thanking everyone for their attendance and providing an update on Greek school enrolments.
Mr Loukadellis also stressed how proud he is to see Greeks and non-Greeks coming together to celebrate the annual St Nicholas paniyiri.
“We’ve noticed that we don’t just serve the Greeks, we serve the broader Canberra community as well. People become aware of the paniyiri and every year, people come down and celebrate with us,” Mr Loukadellis told The Greek Herald.
“So it’s a very busy but a very fulfilling and unifying day for us as Canberra Greeks.”
* All photos copyright: The Greek Herald / Andriana Simos.
Hundreds turned up to St Spyridon Greek Orthodox Parish in Kingsford over the weekend to attend celebrations in honour of the patron saint’s feast day.
Celebrations began on Saturday night with a vespers service presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Sevasteia, and a number of other clergy from across Sydney.
The vespers service. Photos: St Spyridon Parish / Facebook.
This was followed by a celebratory dinner at the hall on parish grounds, during which the recipients of the ‘St Spyridon Scholarships’ and ‘Donations to Community Causes’ were announced.
the ‘Venedictos Livissianis Prize’ for the highest ATAR at the 2020 HSC exams went to Peter Ganis of St Spyridon College;
the ‘Harry Kapsalis Prize’ for the best result in Modern Greek at last year’s HSC exams went to Michael Dovellos of St Spyridon College; and
Paris Mousamas of St Spyridon College also gained a St Spyridon Scholarship for her excellent ATAR score.
Recipients of the St Spyridon Scholarships. Photos: St Spyridon Parish / Facebook.
The next day, a Divine Liturgy service was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, along with His Grace Bishops Iakovos of Miletoupolis and Kyriakos of Sozopolis, among many others.
During the service, Archbishop Makarios ordained St Spyridon Parish’s new assistant priest, Dr Chris Baghos, to the Diaconate in the presence of his wife, Elleni Baghos, parents, siblings and relatives.
Photos: St Spyridon Parish / Facebook.
Parish priest, Father Steven Scoutas, was also conferred the title ‘Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne,’ which is the highest distinction a married priest can receive in the Orthodox Church.
In a small address, Father Scoutas dedicated the distinction to his late parents, Savvas and Maria, for nurturing him in the Orthodox faith and for teaching him obedience to the church.
Father Scoutas also thanked the St Spyridon parishioners for their love and collaboration over the many years of his service, and acknowledged the great support of his Presvitera Patricia and their children.
Father Steven Scoutas was conferred the title ‘Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne.’
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Makarios led the procession of St Spyridon’s icon around the church, followed by the clergy and parishioners.
Later, a Greek-style paniyiri was held on the shared grounds of the church and St Spyridon College. Everyone who attended was entertained by Iho Nyx band, whilst they enjoyed lunch and visited the various stalls set up on the grounds, including the Philoptochos Ladies’ Auxiliary annual Sweets Stall.
Students from St Spyridon College also sang a Christmas song in Greek, then started a Greek kalamatiano dance.
Photos: St Spyridon Parish / Facebook.
The joy on the children’s faces was so irresistible that everyone began to join in, including the Head of College, Amelia Katsogiannis, Junior School Principal, Aristea Synesios, other teachers, parents, grandparents and siblings.
“It was a very moving day and it was wonderful to see everyone together as it was an event celebrated by cross-generations of our Parish, from the young to the elderly,” Elia Economou, who is the President of the Parish Council, told The Greek Herald after the event.
“It was really good to have some personal interactions as well.”
The South Australian government has launched a $12.3 million program to capitalise on a growing momentum in the state’s population and economy by encouraging international expats to return home.
According to The Advertiser, one of these expats is 30-year-old investment manager, Jake Kantilaftas, and his internal auditor fiancee, Anneliese Pedler, 29.
For the past six years, Kantilaftas has lived all over the world – starting in San Francisco, before moving to New York, Sydney and then Melbourne. He said Adelaide’s job market has measurably improved.
People are being lured back to South Australia.
“Being in all those cities made me appreciate how great a city Adelaide is to live in. Although they’re wonderful cities, the amenity of living in Adelaide is still world class by comparison,” Kantilaftas told the newspaper.
After losing 6071 people from March 2017 to December 2017 quarter, South Australia has recorded a net gain of 963 people in the year to March quarter 2021, according to government figures.
Premier Steven Marshall said “people from throughout Australia are recognising that our state truly is the land of opportunity.”
Androulakis, a civil engineer, was a former youth leader at the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, one of KINAL’s constituent parties, and has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014. He is considered a moderate. He self-identifies as a Social Democrat.
Papandreou has called Androulakis to congratulate him.
Και σήμερα, η συμμετοχή των δημοκρατών πολιτών στην εκλογική μας διαδικασία ήταν μεγάλη.
Είναι μήνυμα ευθύνης για όλους μας.
Έχω ήδη εκφράσει στον Νίκο Ανδρουλάκη τα συγχαρητήριά μου και τις ευχές μου για καλή επιτυχία.
The polls closed at 7:30 pm on Sunday, with just over 206,000 party members and friends voting, less than the 270,000 who voted in last Sunday’s first round.
The elections took place after the death from the cancer of Fofi Gennimata in October. She had been president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) since 2015. Since 2017, she served as the president of KINAL, a coalition of center-left parties formed around PASOK.
Tiny dancers will miss out on performing in a dance concert on Sunday after one tested positive to COVID-19, The Sydney Morning Heraldreports.
The children were deemed close contacts of the girl who tested positive on Wednesday after they rehearsed in the same dance studio last Saturday. The 11 girls have so far tested negative but are required to isolate for 14 days.
One of the parents, Zoe Vayanos, said her nine-year-old daughter, Isabella, was devastated she would miss her dance concert.
“…our kids are getting the raw end of the stick on this one. The mental health ramifications aren’t being weighed up against the possible risk of viral transmission,” Zoe told the SMH.
Tiny dancers will miss out on performing in a dance concert on Sunday after one tested positive to COVID-19.
Another parent, Andria Kafkakis, said her daughter Ava, 10, “broke down” when she told her the concert wasn’t going on.
“She said ‘my heart is dead.’ It has cost her a lot. She doesn’t even get to say goodbye to her friends at school and finish the school year,” Andria told the media outlet.
Currently, children exposed to a positive case at school have been treated as casual contacts and allowed to return to school a day after receiving a negative test result.
A spokesperson for NSW Health told the newspaper this exemption is to provide “an option for close contact children (who are exposed at school) to not miss out on further face-to-face learning.”
“Outside of school, children must remain in isolation for the duration of their self-isolation period,” the spokesperson said.
This news comes as Greece faced severe weather over the weekend which caused widespread flooding and serious infrastructure damage in the western parts of the country.
Severe flooding has hit parts of Greece.
The intense weather phenomena hit particularly hard the areas of Epirus and Thessaly. Etoloakarnania, Achaia and the Ionian islands were also affected.
Rivers overflowed, flooding crops and cutting off roads, while some villages were evacuated for precautionary reasons and bridges collapsed.
France’s armed forces also confirmed on Saturday that a contract with Greece for the supply of the French frigates had just been signed.
“Since we have been in discussion with the Greeks, the American offer is no longer on the table… We also signed the contract with the Greeks. It was initialled a few days ago,” the armed forces ministry told AFP.
The US State Department on Friday announced the approval of a potential sale of four Multi-Mission Surface Combatant ships for $6.9 billion to Greece alongside $2.5 billion worth of upgrades to the country’s existing Meko Class ships.
France-Greece frigate deal is “final” as Athens declines US offer.
The announcement triggered some concerns over the Athens-Paris agreement, especially after a long-existing submarine deal between France and Australia was abruptly tanked by a bombshell AUKUS pact in September, without any prior warning.
This time around, according to the French military and RT News, the US “had warned us that this announcement was going to come out” and that Americans allegedly had “no inclination to go further” with an actual sale of their frigates.
New York waitress, Ervita Katehis, lost her job in October but she tells The Australian Financial Review she’s in no rush to find a new job.
Katehis also won’t take welfare because of how it might affect her credit rating. She wants to buy a house next year and knows banks will turn her away if she registered for unemployment benefits.
“I am not taking welfare benefits. I won’t ask because the bank will ask if I get a loan,” she says.
The waitress isn’t the only American making this choice. According to recent statistics, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the United States has fallen to 2 million from 18 million at the beginning of the year.
US President Joe Biden.
Another 200,000 new jobs were also registered in November and the overall number of people entering the workforce has risen.
US President Joe Biden said these statistics show that “America is back to work and our jobs recovery is going very strong.”
For Katehis, this means she can turn to the gig economy to make some money before starting to look for a job in the new year in the industry she wants. She says there are plenty of jobs out there.
“I am continuing to look for the same work in hospitality, but I want to make sure I make the same money or better,” she concludes.
