Tourists in Athens surprised at low-key election

By Andrew Chung

Tourists in Athens expressed surprise on Sunday that after months of political upheaval and government wrangling with international donors, Greek voters’ latest turn at the ballot box seemed like an afterthought.

Watching the ceremonial changing of the guard in front of the Greek parliament, Christine Taylor, 68, a retiree from Manchester, England, said no one in her travels around the country has been talking about the election.

“I expected that the economic situation would have people really concerned. But nothing,” she said.

It is the fifth general election in Greece in six years, and the third vote this year after the election that brought leftist Alexis Tsipras to power and a referendum on whether to accept a new bailout and austerity plan from the European Union.

Mario Hamel, 49, from Montreal, said he was expecting to see bitterness or frustration. “But not at all,” he said. “Perhaps people are so used to it.”

There is no shortage of tourists, one industry that is still prospering. Simpson Lo and Alpha Wong arrived on Saturday for their honeymoon from Hong Kong. “We were nervous because we thought there might be protests,” said Wong, 28, as they strolled near the foot of the Acropolis. “But it has been very peaceful.”

Lo said he thought Greeks don’t expect the election result to change much. “The government here can only agree to the orders from the European Union. They must only obey,” he said.

Most travellers – like many Greeks – seemed to agree that the election would not make much difference.

“Europe supports Greece with many billions of euros and we ask, is this necessary? Will that support really help Greece?”, said Emile Muhlradt, 66, who is on a week-long tour from the Netherlands.

“I have talked to many different Greek people and they said to me, ‘Our government, our leaders are corrupt.’ They don’t trust the situation or the future. So we ask ourselves, what’s the point?” (Reuters)