Democracy

Debates in Parliament are about politicians being held to account. This is a basic element of democracy from when it was created. It is about politicians being accountable to those who elected them and informing them honestly and clearly. This means keeping sophisms and fireworks to a minimum. This is not an obligation that weighs just on the government, but also on the opposition.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee on Thursday that the 2018 budget is not fair "in an absolute way," and raised some eyebrows saying that the government had the option not to vote for it and to call elections instead.

Nikos Androulakis, a member of the European Parliament and rival of Democratic Alignment leader Fofi Gennimata in Sunday's runoff election for a leader of the new center-left party, has called for a large voter turnout.

"I am calling on citizens to vote," he said on Tuesday, adding that the effort to reform the center-left in Greece needs a mass turnout of voters this weekend.

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Maria Gabriel, launched a public consultation and announced the creation of a high-level expert group on fake news.

This took place at a special conference in Brussels with the participation of stakeholders.

The feeling of distrust of democracy covers a significant share of Bulgarian society, according to a survey of sociologists from Trend. 33% of respondents are of the opinion that it would be better for Bulgaria if the head of the state or any, one person, decides everything. And 29 percent even believe that democracy is not a good form of government for our country.

Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis does not rule out entering a future government coalition should he be elected to lead a new center-left political party next month.

Elections to pick the leader of Greece's new center-left party will take part on November 12, it was announced Monday.

A runoff vote, if necessary, will be held a week later on November 19.

The ballot was postponed to safeguard the transparency of the process, organizers said.

One of the few positive things to happen in Greece in the years of the crisis was the establishment of the annual New York Times' forum on democracy in Athens.

"The fate of journalism and the fate of democracy are bound up in each other," says the president and CEO of The New York Times, Mark Thompson, who is in the Greek capital for the Athens Democracy Forum, running through Sunday.

The Greek government on Monday attacked the conservative opposition for allegedly seeking to damage the "positive mood" created by the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Athens and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's weekend speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).