The Real Story Was Off the Court

Dear Member,

Before we get to the big stories of the week, Greece is doing what Greece does best before a long weekend: trying to leave Athens. Holidaymakers have been heading to the islands, ferries are filling up, and the country is already mentally halfway to the Aegean. It’s a long weekend since Monday is a national holiday for the public sector,

Back in the capital, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was talking about a different kind of journey, Greece’s digital future. Speaking at the Panathenea 2026 festival alongside ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski, he said Greece wants to become a leading country in the “smart and responsible” use of artificial intelligence in public services, including through voice AI on (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)Gov.gr (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

But the real economy offered a less futuristic reminder: unemployment stood at 9.5% in April, according to official data. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

The justice system also had a busy week. The Supreme Court prosecutor moved to overturn the release of Alexandros Giotopoulos, the convicted 17 November leader, potentially sending the case back into legal limbo (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). He did 25 years in prison, while Golden Dawn leaders didn’t even serve 13 years.

Meanwhile, the Tempi trial resumed in Larissa after delays over the suitability of the courtroom. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)The objections of the defendants were completed, but proceedings are moving painfully slowly. The next hearing is scheduled for June 2.

And now, to the week’s main stories for you.

A Final Four, a Greek triumph, and a very Greek sideshow

For a weekend, Greece had every reason to enjoy the spotlight. Athens was hosting the EuroLeague Final Four, the eyes of European basketball were on the OAKA - now Telekom Center Athens - and Olympiacos had reached the final. There was also one extra layer of Greek absurdity: the final was being played in the home arena of Panathinaikos, Olympiacos’ fiercest rival.

So the stage was already loaded with symbolism. Greece was hosting. Olympiacos was chasing European glory. Panathinaikos’ court had temporarily become a red-and-white theater. And then, just before the final, the country got another spectacle: a video showing a heated confrontation between Vangelis Marinakis and Grigoris Dimitriadis in the stands. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

Εvangelos Marinakis, the powerful businessman and owner of Olympiacos FC, is seen coming down the stairs of the arena and encountering Dimitriadis, the former secretary general of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ office. The man who is also allegedly behind the wiretapping scandal. The footage appears to show Marinakis striking Dimitriadis in the face, Dimitriadis striking back, and security men then stepping in to separate them. During the scuffle, Marinakis’ shirt was reportedly torn, while stunned Olympiacos fans watched from nearby.

What followed was almost as revealing as the incident itself. Prosecutors ordered an investigation and asked police to collect audiovisual material from OAKA’s security cameras. Police and prosecutors at the venue were informed immediately, but no arrests were made on the spot because authorities judged that trying to detain the protagonists inside a packed arena could trigger a broader security problem.

Then came the media battle. Some outlets clearly picked sides. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) Others simply reported the videos and the known facts. A third group appeared to bury or ignore the story altogether - even though it had become one of the main topics on Greek social media, overshadowing parts of the basketball itself.

The legal sequel is now underway. Marinakis reportedly filed a lawsuit against Dimitriadis. Dimitriadis responded publicly, (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) calling the incident an “unprovoked and cowardly attack” and saying he had only defended himself, his wife and his reputation. He also declared that he was “not hiding in London,” unlike Marinakis, and said he would place himself at the disposal of the authorities.

In other words, Greece hosted a European basketball final and Olympiacos took center stage. But, in classic Greek fashion, the story that survived the final whistle was not only basketball. It was power, media & politics in the VIP seats. Let’s see what comes next. It’s going to be very interesting, we can assure you.

And for the record, Olympiacos won and is now the European Champion!

Two inquiries, two political tests

Over the past week, Parliament effectively held two critical votes on parliamentary inquiries: one on the wiretapping scandal, which was rejected, and one on OPEKEPE, Greece’s farm subsidies agency, which had already been approved and is now moving forward.

In the first case, PASOK’s proposal for an inquiry into the wiretapping case was rejected by 155 votes to 6. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) New Democracy argued that, given the nature of the case, the proposal required an absolute majority of 151 MPs to pass.

The debate took place on Thursday, May 21. The vote ended with 161 MPs present, 155 against and 6 in favor, meaning the proposal failed. The opposition reacted sharply, arguing that the correct threshold should have been 120 votes, the minority threshold required to establish a parliamentary inquiry. New Democracy, however, cited Article 68, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, arguing that because the matter involved national security, it required an absolute majority of all MPs.

The second vote concerned the inquiry into OPEKEPE. That inquiry had already been approved earlier, with 166 votes (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) in favor and 92 against, out of 258 MPs voting. It has since moved ahead institutionally, with its work set to last three months from the time the committee is formed.

In other words, the “news of the week” in Parliament was the opposition’s failure to secure a new inquiry into the wiretapping scandal, while the OPEKEPE case remains the recent example of an inquiry that was approved by the House.

The political weight of both votes was significant because the dispute was not only about whether an investigation should take place. It was also about what kind of majority is required to launch such an inquiry. As a result, the battle shifted more toward procedure than the substance of the cases themselves.

Tsipras returns, with history as his stage prop

If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you must know that former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a new political party in the making. On Wednesday, Alexis Tsipras (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) did not simply announce a new party in Thiseio. He staged a return (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). The location, the crowd, the timing, the colors and, above all, the name were designed to say that this was not another party launch, but an attempt to reclaim the leadership of Greece’s fragmented progressive camp.

The new party is called EL.A.S. - Hellenic Left Coalition. The acronym was the first shockwave. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)To older Greeks, ELAS immediately recalls the communist-led resistance army of World War II. To everyone else, it also sounds almost identical to EL.AS (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)., the Greek Police. Tsipras’ team insists the choice was deliberate: a blend of left-wing identity, patriotism, resistance memory and a broad appeal beyond the old SYRIZA base. According to reporting from the pro-Tsipras camp, the name had been locked in for months and kept secret until the final moment.

The Thiseio event had the feel of a carefully produced political comeback. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) Former ministers, loyal SYRIZA figures, people from the broader left, cultural personalities and younger supporters were there. But the absences mattered almost as much as the presences. The event was watched closely not only by New Democracy, but also by PASOK and what remains of SYRIZA, because Tsipras is not just launching a party. He is trying to become the unavoidable pole of the opposition again.

His speech was built around seven commitments for “progressive governance”: democracy, justice, public health, labor rights, housing, climate and a more active foreign policy. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) But the more interesting part was his tone. He avoided naming Kyriakos Mitsotakis directly, did not lean into old anti-right slogans, and tried to speak less like the leader of a wounded left and more like a candidate for a broader social majority. It was Tsipras with a softer vocabulary, but with very familiar instincts.

The criticism came from all directions. New Democracy framed the launch as rebranding (Öffnet in neuem Fenster): old SYRIZA in new packaging. The right attacked the name as historically loaded and politically provocative. Some centrist commentators saw in the speech a deliberate attempt to move toward moderation. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) Others saw the opposite: old symbols, old networks, old clothes. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

The deeper question is whether EL.A.S. is a new beginning or a sophisticated recycling operation. Tsipras delivered political theater. He reminded everyone that he still knows how to command a stage, dominate a news cycle and unsettle his rivals. But the hard part begins now: proving that this is more than nostalgia, more than symbolism, and more than one man’s second act.

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Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said Greece must protect every media worker from abusive practices, arguing that the issue goes beyond SLAPP lawsuits to include firings and attacks. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) He linked the government’s position to broader reforms on media transparency, press labor rights and journalist safety, while defending measures such as tying state advertising to compliance with labor rules.

Euronews reports that Greece and Turkey are no longer competing only over sunshine, but over value for money. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)Turkey still often wins on all-inclusive packages and day-to-day costs, helped by the weak lira, but inflation has made some Turkish resorts less of a bargain than they used to be. Greece, meanwhile, is performing better than expected, with Crete, Kos and Rhodes ranking well for family holiday value, while Crete saw prices fall by almost 8% year-on-year. A second Euronews piece notes the political irony: Greeks are increasingly put off by prices in Turkey, while Turkish tourists are heading to Greece for holidays and shopping, helped by visa arrangements for several Aegean islands.

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)At least 610 migrants were rescued in a single day south of Crete during ten separate coastguard search-and-rescue operations, (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)according to AMNA. The figure underlines how the migration route south of Crete has become one of the most active and dangerous pressure points in the Mediterranean.

In the Atlantic Council, Greece’s environment and energy minister Stavros Papastavrou presents Athens as a pragmatic energy player: committed to the green transition, but also to affordability, security and competitiveness. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)The piece argues that Greece is positioning itself as a transatlantic energy bridge through hydrocarbons exploration, renewables, LNG infrastructure, the Vertical Corridor and partnerships with Cyprus, Israel and the United States.

The Green European Journal argues that Greece has experienced democratic backsliding under New Democracy, with civil society and independent journalism stepping in where institutions and mainstream media have failed. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) The piece focuses on the pressure faced by NGOs, journalists and watchdog groups, from legal harassment and SLAPPs to smear campaigns and restrictive migration-sector rules.

Greek Reporter explains why electricity bills remain high in Greece despite the country’s growth in solar and wind energy. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) The answer lies in marginal pricing, natural gas dependence, grid limitations, island infrastructure costs, taxes and regulated charges that keep household bills high even when renewables generate cheaper power.

Finders describes a new phase of Israeli-linked real estate investment in Athens, after early investors bought central properties during the crisis years at very low prices. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) The focus has shifted from bargain buying to renovation, serviced apartments, hotels and resale strategies, with areas around Omonia, Patission, Panepistimiou and Stadiou showing how central Athens is being reshaped by capital that arrived a decade ago.

Since late 2025, the Greek state has mobilized hundreds of officers to conduct weekly, militarized raids on Roma-majority neighbourhoods in the name of combatting organised crime. This  investigation into these raids exposes Operation ENTOS: a systematic campaign of collective punishment disguised as 'preventive policing' that shows no evidence of organised, widespread criminal activity beyond minor infractions such as irregular electricity connections in communities beset with racialised poverty.

(Öffnet in neuem Fenster)This one is in Greek: LiFO’s Dimitris Politakis writes critically about the “transformation” of Crete through mega-projects, high-value investment, wellness centers, yachting infrastructure and international hospitality brands. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) 

That’s all for this week. Do you have any questions? We’d love to hear them. Don’t hesitate to ask by replying to this email. 

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As always, thank you for reading.

The AL team