Newswise — STORY: National elections in Greece are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 16, just weeks after the deadly fires in southern Greece that killed dozens of people and injured many others. The Greek government has come under heavy criticism over its handling of the disaster. University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor of political science Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., says the outcome of Sunday's elections may be influenced by the fire tragedy and perceptions of government ineptness. Zahariadis is available to discuss the outcome of the election and Greek government land development policies.
WHO: Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., teaches in the UAB Department of Government. He has published extensively in the areas of European public policy, political economy, foreign aid, and nationalism and security in Southeastern Europe. Some of the publications include "Markets, States, and Public Policy: Privatization in Britain and France" (Michigan, 1995) and articles in Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, and other journals.
WHAT: "Currently, the polls in Greece are very tight now, and it is most likely due to the fires," says Zahariadis. "Another problem has been that Greece lacks a national [land] ownership registry. Much of the land in Greece belongs to the state, and forest land cannot be developed. Farmland, however, can be developed. Without a national registry, determining which lands are actually farmlands and which are forest lands is fuzzy. Also government officials can be bribed into declaring certain lands are farmland. All of these issues may affect the election outcomes on Sunday."
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