Acropolis of Athens

Greece will continue to demand the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens and their reunification with the Parthenon, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said on Friday, responding to recent comments by her British counterpart that returning the sculptures would "open a can of worms."

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday dismissed reports of an imminent repatriation of the Parthenon sculptures known in Britain as the Elgin marbles.

Politics is, as they say, the art of the possible. Nevertheless, sometimes politicians turn their backs on the attainable, especially if it does not help them politically and gives points to their opponents.

There is indeed a basis to the opposition's fear that the government will use a possible return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece in its pre-election campaign to garner votes. They would be stupid not to. Wouldn't the other political parties do likewise if they were in power?

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expressed his confidence that the Parthenon Sculptures, currently exhibited at the British Museum, will be returned to Athens.

The architectural designed for the new National Archaeological Museum (NAM) in Athens is an opportunity to take stock of the fact that many cultural and creative forces in Greece are still being held back.

Negotiations for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures are ongoing, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said on Monday.

In an apparent reference to the return from the Vatican of fragments of the temple's decorations, Oikonomou said the "partial return of the Parthenon Sculptures" has already begun and underlined the "radical shift in public opinion in the UK."

Last week, there were several stories in some British and American media implying that an agreement over cultural exchanges between Greece and the United Kingdom is imminent and that it would involve the loan of part of the Parthenon Sculptures held in the British Museum.

What is all this business with the Parthenon Sculptures all of a sudden? Is it the barrage of foreign reports, each presenting its own version of developments and inside information? Is it the secret meetings between the Greek prime minister and the head of the British Museum, George Osborne? Is it the announcements by the government and those from the opposition?

For reasons that are not necessarily linked to Greece's efforts, the climate in the United Kingdom concerning the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures has changed drastically.