The annual reception at the White House for the March 25 commemoration is undoubtedly the most significant event for the Greek-American community in the United States. At the same time, however – and regrettably – it often serves as a source of discord and hostility within the Diaspora.
According to the Mikropolitikos column on Thursday in the Athens daily “Ta Nea”, the reason has to do with a total lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the event’s organizers, resulting in an annual “battle royal” for the coveted invitations.
It’s indicative that the “cloak of mystery” surrounding the annual reception’s is so pronounced that the biggest and most venerable Greek-American organizations, along with the large Greek-American community’s most influential individuals, don’t have a clue on how the event is organized or what the criteria for invitation entail.
That obscurity, however, doesn’t extend to two individuals long considered as the protagonists behind the reception, namely, Father Alex Karloutsos and lobbyist Mike Manatos.
Adding to the Greek-American community’s annoyance is the fact that many visitors from Greece are annually invited to the high-profile event, most of whom have no ties with the Diaspora and Greek-American relations. This practice has led to displeasure with Father Alex and Mike Manatos, with criticism against the pair holding that they consider the annual Greek reception at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as their “property”.
Although no explanation has ever been given on why so many people are invited from Greece every year to the reception, speculation is rife that tickets are doled out to serve a personal agenda – one that has nothing to do with the Greek Diaspora in the United States.
Nevertheless, what’s now being circulated within the “Beltway” is that things are about to change this year under a Donald Trump administration, with White House staff reportedly taking more control over the upcoming reception in a bid to…restore order.
Let’s hope that the people organizing the Greek Independence Day reception at the White House, in the name of the Greek-American community, will, at some point, provide answers and remove this “cloak of mystery”.
