The ‘committed ally’

In the parliamentary clash Thursday over the Greece-US defense agreement, the leader of the main opposition party, Alexis Tsipras, repeatedly accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of having made the country a “committed ally” of America (with the implication that it can be taken for granted by the superpower).

Local failures

The central state cannot always match the reflexes of the local administration. It is simply not possible for a government ministry to have full knowledge and clear understanding of every municipality’s needs in the area of civil protection.