The well-wishing at the start of each year is rather liberal, since wishes do not cost and are welcome by everyone.
However, the seasonal wishes do not have any impact on the real circumstances, which develop in spite of the year changing.
In the first few days of the new year, the international complications and crises intensified.
The common belief is that the international fronts are getting bigger, rather than smaller, with the waves of insecurity and uncertainty from the end of last year intensifying.
In the Middle East, from which the divisive – for Europe – waves of refugees stem, the underlying conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia was highlighted at the start of the year and has caused many of clashes between Shiites and Sunnis in the broader region.
There is nothing to suggest that this crisis will soon be resolved.
On the contrary, it seems that it will carry on for at least two years.
The alliances that emerged from this conflict reflect the complexity of the crisis in the Middle East.
The West-leaning Egyptians, along with the cosmopolitans in Qatar and Bahrain, support their Saudi neighbors. Turkey’s Erdogan and Davutoglu are also supporting the house of Saud and would rather come to blows with the modernized imams of Tehran than displease the fanatic princes of Riyadh.
Many believe that Turkey would like the jihadists to block off the Kurds in southeast Turkey and northeast Syria. Especially now that the Kurds are just 30 kilometers away from Raqqa, Turkey does not know how to approach its transatlantic allies, who view Ankara with suspicion.
It is no coincidence that reliable American institutions predict the worse for our neighboring Turkey, some even going as far to suggest that Turkey will “burst” in 2016!
But it is not just the Middle East that is generating insecurity, since the abrupt collapse of growth in China and the nuclear tests of North Korea are also causing uncertainty.
To top everything off in this unstable, international environment, we have events such as the sexual assaults in Germany on New Year’s Even and the hatemongering of nationalists and politicians in Europe, the USA and elsewhere.
Should euroscepticism further entrench itself in the European foundation, then the supranational aspect of Europe will be under threat.
In any case, the many crises combined are generating waves of insecurity and uncertainty all over the world.
More so in troubled Greece, which aside from the geopolitical developments also has to face a major financial crisis.
In these troubled times, the Greek political leaders must persist on stabilizing the economy and taking advantage of any geopolitical opportunities to become an ambassador for the developed world in the surrounding region.
The times demand good housekeeping, clear mind and determined leadership. Everything else is a luxury for different times…
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
