Greece: Is Marina Satti the reason for the change of the president of ERT?
The electronic edition of Avgi , mentions in an article the reasons for the non-remaining of Kon/nos Zoulas in the position of President of ERT. In fact, the columnist claims that, among others, Marina Satti’s appearance at Eurovision 2024 was one of the reasons why Kon/nos Zoulas is saying goodbye to the radio station of Agia Paraskevi.
Marina Satti “fires” Kon/nos Zoulas from ERT
From the first moment, both Marina Satti herself and other contributors to the Greek participation mentioned in their statements that the President of ERT himself, Kon/nos Zoulas, was the one who convinced the popular artist to say yes to Eurovision .
It is no secret that Kon/nos Zoulas, since 2019 when he had assumed the duties of the President of ERT, had several times proposed to Marina Satti and her record label, to represent Greece in the Eurovision contest. Finally, Marina Satti represented Greece in Malmö last May, taking 11th place with ZARI.
Marina Satti’s infamous yawn at the press conference, immediately after the end of the second semi-final and when the representative of Israel Eden Golan was speaking, had provoked strong reactions, forcing even the government representative to take a stand, effectively emptying the behavior of the Greek representative.
Much has been written since then, but the displeasure of the goverment is a given. At the time, many considered Mr. Zoulas to be responsible, as he was the one who chose Marina Satti as Greece’s representative in the competition. Newspaper Vima wrote at the time that the government would like the country’s representative at Eurovision to be chosen in 2025 with the participation of the audience, wanting in this way to abdicate any responsibility that would exist in the selection of the artist.
For what other reasons is Kon/nos Zoulas leaving?
Of course, as you understand, this is not the only reason why Kon/nos Zoulas is leaving ERT. According to the article, the goverment had been deeply dissatisfied with the works of Mr. Zoula in the last period. From the operation of ERTNews which was never in the right place at the right time, to the difficulties to collect the remunerative fee and from the publications about the expensive mixed productions, to the refusal to proceed with the Collective Labor Agreements with the Unions of ERT workers.
And a small editorial
Regardless of one’s view of Marina Satti’s behavior in the competition, it is paradoxical if expected that what upset the government was a rude act by an artist and not the dramas and complaints that accompanied the selection of last year’s Greek entry . Perhaps even this simple incident shows the pathogenicity of the Greek state and the way it solves problems and situations.
Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!
Source: AVGI