Greece
Last gasp for public smoking
1 September 2010
Presseurop
To Vima 
To Vima, 1 September 2010
“Absolutely no smoking in parliament, except on the balcony,” remarks an ironic To Vima. On the day when “the total ban on smoking in public buildings comes into force,” the Athens daily reports that “smoking rooms in the Greek parliament have been turned into reception areas and a special balcony equipped with a mini-bar and an awning to provide protection from the weather has been set aside for smokers.” Until now, Greece’s partial tobacco ban has largely been ignored, but the government has moved to increase the number of anti-smoking inspectors, and introduced strict fines: up to 10,000 euros for the proprietors of bars and cafes that fail to respect the legislation, and 500 euros for individuals who light up in restricted areas.
As Greece pimps its ancient monuments to bring in the tourists, lovers of cultural heritage are up in arms. But the country is only doing openly what the whole of Europe is: looting historic sites to drum up more ready cash. 
Asserting national values is central to the political project of the Hungarian PM. Since the start of the year, fifteen paintings, specially commissioned for an exhibition in the Castle of Buda, have been putting this ambition on show. 
The game has gone on for nearly two years: Athens pretends to comply with the demands of its creditors and partners, and they pretend to believe in Greece’s commitments. As the spectre of default comes nearer, however, the Greek bluff cannot go on much longer, writes an El Mundo editorialist.