Karamanlis survives fires

"Greek politics has been dominated by three families for six decades: the Karamanlis, the Papandreous and the Mitsotakis," Michael Martens notes with disapproval. "Who stands for what in this southern European family clan saga?... Papandreou the Third is trying to discredit the government but he hasn't convinced enough voters. For his part, Karamanlis the Second will face unpleasant tasks after his election victory. During the first legislative period his main task was to deal with the gaping budget deficit left by the previous government. Over the coming years he must reform the country's dilapidated pension system. There are almost 200 pension fund companies in Greece; the taxi drivers, the rubbish collectors and the journalists all have their own, and many of them are inefficient. But even some of those who voted for him doubt Karamanlis will have the courage to introduce change and go down in Greek history as Costas the Reformer."

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