In an article that carries the title “Given the crisis we will have to see if we maintain the Opera or not” Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, presents a portrait of Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism, Pavlos Geroulanos.
Geroulanos, an economist who studied at the MIT and Harvard, spoke to journalist Justo Barranco about piracy, the Marbles and opera and made it quite clear that he's got absolutely no idea of what he's talking about...
¿Sufren cortes con la crisis?
Grandes, pero tenemos objetivos muy claros y canalizamos el dinero desde las áreas más ineficientes. Ahora tenemos un problema con la ópera y en los próximos días hemos de decidir si la mantenemos o no. Buscamos el modo de salvarla, queremos mantenerla abierta, pero se ha salido tanto del presupuesto que hay problema para hallar fondos e implica un enorme sacrificio. En cambio, el nuevo museo de la Acrópolis ha abierto una nueva manera de ver los museos en Grecia. Antes eran estáticos y éste es parte del estilo de vida de Atenas. Paseos, turismo, compras. Su éxito permite pensar con libertad en el patrimonio como algo no sólo a proteger sino a desarrollar.
Have you suffered abridgement of expenses given the crisis?
Many, but we have very clear objectives and we channel the money from the more inefficient areas. Right now we are dealing with a problem with the Opera and within the next days we will have to decide if we maintain it open or not. We are looking for a way to save it, we want to keep it open, but it has strayed from its budget to such extent that there is difficulty to find the funds and it involves an enormous sacrifice. On the other hand [????!!!!] the new Acropolis Museum has opened a new way of perceiving the museums in Greece. In the past they were static and this is part of the life-style of Athens. Walks, tourism, shopping. The Museum's success permits us to think of the heritage not as something to protect but as something to develop.
Full interview can be found on the Sunday the 4th of April edition of La Vanguardia.
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