Greece: Political Developments and Data in 2021

The year 2021 marked the 200th anniversary of the onset of the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. On top of the ongoing economic recovery, the government continued to deal with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant anti-vax movement developed. In the summer, devastating wildfires ravaged Greece. The mounting critique about the handling of the fires together with the worsening situation of the pandemic pointed to a drastic Cabinet reshuffle. Such a reshuffle was attempted but ended up undermining the government's effort to start afresh. Regardless, the ruling party, New Democracy/Nea Dimokratia (ND), remained hegemonic according to the polls. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita increased at a faster rate than expected, but the trade deficit of the country also increased dramatically. Inflation was at the highest point in a decade at 5%. The #MeToo movement eventually reached Greece involving public figures. Finally, this was the year with a staggering number of femicides, 17 in total.