A new metro held hostage

On the sidelines of the happy event of the inauguration of the Thessaloniki Metro, a merry-go-round of tensions and reactions has emerged. It is easy to focus on the occasional and ignore the timeless. Current events, besides being a mirror of society, are also a mechanism for reducing pressures. What the media was preoccupied with was a senior executive of a local soccer club who informed Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos that fans of the team are preparing to “smash up” the inauguration ceremony of the city’s new metro because their team was punished with two games behind closed doors.

The deputy minister does the right thing and files a report with the local prosecutor’s office. The senior executive replies that he was misinterpreted, that he respects legality and that his communication “was intended to prevent any illegal activities related to the behavior of individuals outside the control of the club.” In the meantime, the Athens Administrative Court of Appeal decides – apparently out of fear of violence – to temporarily suspend the sentence imposed on the soccer club.

On the one hand, we have the uncontrolled hooligans, on the other, a state that is having difficulty imposing the law – if not an inability. The inauguration of the metro, the visits of the officials, the planned opening, could not be postponed. The impasse is obvious, fear reigns supreme, and public property is constantly held hostage.

A metro is one of the infrastructure projects that changes the life of the city, not superficially or temporarily but decisively. In addition to the transport and psychology of its residents, it affects everyone’s relationship with time and the city. The layers of history through archaeological findings contribute to knowledge, strengthen or shift narratives, illuminate everyday life in a different way. But none of this matters when there is a risk of soccer matches being held behind closed doors!

The “unveiling of Thessaloniki’s metro” could not have happened outside of reality and society. The unveiling does not always bring to the surface the behaviors we desire, but also what we abhor and condemn. What matters is the way in which the political leadership and the authorities operate. They are proud on the one hand, they give in to threats, on the other. These are actions dictated by fear. The message is distorted.