Culture becomes political: the dispute between Athens and London escalates

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A few hours before a planned meeting, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprisingly canceled his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis – even though his Conservative party colleague was already in London.

Mitsotakis again refused an alternative meeting with Sunak’s deputy Oliver Dowden – and appeared angry. We are talking about a diplomatic scandal between NATO partners.

At the center of the dispute are the frieze parts of the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens. In Great Britain, people know the art treasure on display in the British Museum in London as the “Elgin Marbles”.

The name explains the conflict: it was the British diplomat Lord Elgin who had the best-preserved marble slabs and sculptures of the Parthenon frieze on the Acropolis dismantled and brought to England in the early 19th century. There he sold it to the British Museum in 1816. However, from a Greek perspective, Elgin stole the frieze parts, as Mitsotakis also recently emphasized.

The British Prime Minister is against the return

The outrage in Greece was therefore great. Elgin probably woke up in Sunak, was the headline in the newspaper ‘Apogevmatini’ on Tuesday. The case is an issue that goes beyond party controversies and affects the history of an entire people, said the head of the main opposition party, the left-wing Syriza, Stefanos Kasselakis. “And it is a moral issue that concerns the blatant theft of cultural objects from their natural environment.” The Parthenon Temple (Virgin’s Chamber) on the Acropolis in Athens is one of the most famous surviving architectural monuments of ancient Greece.

The feud had been building since the weekend, when Mitsotakis caused a stir with a comparison. Sharing the art treasure would be like cutting the ‘Mona Lisa’, Leonardo da Vinci’s world-famous painting, in half and putting it on display at the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum, the head of government told the BBC on Sunday. At the same time, he emphasized that Athens was interested in collaborating with the London museum. Its chairman, George Osborne, recently spoke openly about a loan to Greece – on the condition, mind you, that the ‘Elgin Marbles’ then return to London.

Even a loan is out of the question for Sunak, his spokesman made clear. Britain has been caring for the sculptures for generations and is keen to continue doing so. Instead, the Prime Minister is backing a law banning the removal of national cultural treasures from the British Museum. But the wind changes. On Tuesday, even the conservative Times newspaper, which had previously supported the government’s position, called for their return: “The sculptures belong in Athens,” the editorial said. They are fundamental to Greece’s cultural identity.

Are the Conservatives’ declining polls to blame for this decision?

According to commentators, the fact that the dispute over the almost 2,500 year old marble slabs and statues is now escalating is also due to the start of the British election campaign. A new parliament will be elected no later than January 2025. Sunak’s Conservatives are far behind the opposition Labor party in the polls. Sunak’s rejection of Mitsotakis became known as the Greek Prime Minister met with Labor leader Keir Starmer – who in turn seemed open to a loan deal like the one Greece recently agreed with Italy in a similar case. It was said that Sunak was trying to score cheap points by citing the national interest.

The British government, which has taken a strong anti-migration stance, recently praised Greece’s approach to the refugee problem. Labor has now criticized Sunak’s withdrawal as preventing important talks with the ally and demonstrating his inability to provide the necessary leadership.

The fact that London so clearly shouts “Stop” at the Frisians of the Parthenon could, according to art experts, also have something to do with the fact that the “Elgin Marbles” are not the only pieces of controversial origin in the British Museum. Unlike other museums in London or Germany, the renowned institution refuses to return so-called Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

And then there is the Koh-i-Noor. The world-famous high-caliber diamond is part of the coronation crown of ‘Queen Mum’, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II – and comes from the former British colony of India. After the queen’s death last fall, many Indians demanded its return. Also to avoid new debates, the Koh-i-Noor came at the coronation of Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III. not for use. (SDA)

Source: Blick