Nine poll battle grounds

Single-seat constituencies will be an important battleground in Greece’s May 21 parliamentary election, both main parties believe. On the basis of the latest census data, two regional units lost their second parliament seat, raising the number of single-seat constituencies from seven to nine.

Reforms with a marginal majority?

If you win the election, you get the state – that’s the rule in Greece. The state is the winner’s prize. Hence politicians’ worship of absolute majority governments and their abhorrence of coalitions: The victor does not want to share the spoils with anyone else and prefers to reap the benefits arising from his power…

An exodus of public health personnel

Retirements of qualified personnel, lack of sufficient hirings to replace them and the migration of mostly young doctors, combined with the exodus of other personnel well ahead of retirement, are threatening the quality of care at state hospitals, health workers say. This Monday, at Evangelismos Hospital in central Athens, one of the pillars of Greece’s…