There’s more to be read into the contentious TV advertisement released by SYRIZA last week than even the creators themselves would probably like.

As we wait for Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis to reveal the details of his plan to revamp the city center, including the creation of an extensive pedestrian network, the recent overhaul of Omonia Square appears to be but a small taste of what’s to come – an appetizer, let’s say.

I understand (and have full respect for) those among us who want to return to where we were in late February, for reasons that have to do with their economic survival and that of their families. However, I am less certain about the rest of us: What exactly is it that we are so anxious to return to?

People will most certainly love the revamped Omonia Square at the heart of Athens. 

Despite the extreme secrecy that has surrounded the redevelopment of Omonia Square in downtown Athens, it seems that what we will see in the end will have little to do with what the previous municipal authority had announced.

Every family has an eccentric uncle or a cool but loudmouthed aunt – in other words, a middle-aged relative who dresses like a 20-year-old and sits with the youngsters at big family gatherings.

The first time I came across a Facebook post by Kostas Bakoyiannis, the new Athens mayor had written enthusiastically about an operation to clean up a neglected Athens square. 

The tragicomic backlash sparked by the unfortunate plan to rename Athens’ Evangelismos metro station Pavlos Bakoyannis, after the late conservative politician who was gunned down in the area 30 years ago by the November 17 terrorist group, was not all bad.