Three-day conference on ‘50 Years of the Metapolitefsi’ under way

A three-day conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the restoration of Greek democracy – a period known as the Metapolitefsi – got under way on Thursday at the National Gallery in Athens.

Titled “50 Years of the Metapolitefsi,” the conference is organized by Kathimerini newspaper, the National Bank Cultural Foundation (MIET), the Delphi Economic Forum and the Hellenic Observatory at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The anniversary of the fall of the military dictatorship in 1974 and the restoration of democracy in Greece offers an excellent opportunity for leading politicians, academics, experts and journalists to reflect, take stock and assess where the country finds itself five decades later.

Participants in a series of discussions reflecting on the past and future include Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and former prime ministers George Papandreou, Lucas Papademos, Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Antonis Samaras and Alexis Tsipras.

The conference opens with welcoming remarks by Kathimerini Executive Editor Alexis Papachelas, MIET President Gikas Hardouvelis and Delphi Economic Forum founder Symeon G. Tsomokos.

The event will continue with a fireside chat between Kostas Kostis, professor of economics and social history at the University of Athens and director of MIET, and Alexis Papachelas at 12 p.m.

This will be followed by a second fireside chat between George Arapoglou, CEO of Pulse RC, and Sia Kosioni, journalist and anchorwoman on Skai TV, and George Kouvaras, a journalist with public broadcaster ERT.

At 1 p.m., a new panel on the economy will start with three former finance ministers – Giorgios Alogoskoufis (New Democracy), Euclid Tsakalotos (SYRIZA) and George Papaconstantinou (PASOK) – who will debate with Nikos Vettas, general director of the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE) and professor at Athens University, Miranta Xafa, CEO of EF Consulting, and Panagis Vourloumis, former chairman of OTE telecoms. The debate will be coordinated by Vassilis Ziras, a journalist at Kathimerini.

The next event is at 3 p.m. with former president Prokopis Pavlopoulos having a fireside chat with Notis Papadopoulos, a journalist in Kathimerini.

After a short break, the conference will continue at 4.30 p.m. with a fireside chat between Panagiotis Pikrammenos, former prime minister and ex-deputy prime minister of Greece, and Tom Ellis, editor-in-chief of Kathimerini English Edition.

The full program is available here.