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WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
AT LAST, TALKING ABOUT
GAY RIGHTS AT DAVOS
‘AMERICA’S WORST MOM’
ADVICE TO LET CHILDREN
HAVE MORE FREEDOM
FOIE GRAS
WANTING WHAT
YOU CAN’T HAVE
INSIDE
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015
Small parties
fill a void as
trust fades
in Greece
ISIS video
tests Japan’s
push for new
global role
ILION, GREECE
AMAMI, JAPAN
Newcomers, taking votes
from left and right, could
tip the balance of power
Ransom demand linked
to aid pledge could bring
a backlash against Abe
BY SUZANNE DALEY
BY MARTIN FACKLER
AND ALAN COWELL
Harry Theoharis, whose relentless efforts as head of Greece’s tax collection
agency prompted one newspaper last
year to dub him Little Stalin, was out
campaigning recently in a smoky cafe in
this working-class suburb of Athens.
Some of the pensioners there ignored
him. Others openly asked how Mr. Theoharis, 44, who was reportedly forced to
resign over his zealousness in addressing Greece’s chronic tax-avoidance
problems, had the nerve to come asking
for votes. But Mr. Theoharis, who is now
running as a member of a new political
party, To Potami, charged on, arguing
with good humor that efficient tax collection led to lower taxes.
‘‘Here,’’ he said, handing out his leaflets. ‘‘This is the first piece of paper you
have gotten from me that does not have
a bill attached.’’
Whether or not Mr. Theoharis will win
a parliamentary seat in Sunday’s general election is an open question. But his
party, founded just last March by a journalist and largely made up of candidates
who, like him, have never run for office
before, is to the surprise of many running third in the polls.
To Potami could end up being the king
maker if neither of the two leaders in the
field — Alexis Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza
party, which is leading in the polls, or
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s center-right New Democracy, which is several percentage points behind— get a
clear majority.
For Mr. Tsipras in particular, an alliance with To Potami, which has cast itself as the party of moderation, preaching the need to stay in the eurozone at all
cost, could be politically useful. It could
help soothe the fears of creditors and financial markets that have been unnerved by earlier statements from Mr.
Tsipras about renegotiating Greece’s
bailout agreements. And it could provide
him political cover should he need to
shift away from the more radical demands of the far left wing of his party and
compromise with the so-called troika
that has imposed strict conditions on
Greece for the last five years: the European Union, the European Central Bank
and the International Monetary Fund.
But just days away from a vote that
could change Greece’s trajectory and
fuel a broader debate about austerity
policies across Europe, Mr. Theoharis’s
party is not the only one that could tilt
the balance of power in a new government. With faith in leaders and institutions ebbing away, 25 percent of the
country unemployed and the economy
showing only small hints of a turnaround, the political field is fractured.
Polls suggest there may be as many as
eight parties in the Parliament, one of
them founded only three weeks ago by
former President George Papandreou.
Experts say that the many small
parties — three of them emerging since
GREECE, PAGE 4
EIRINI VOURLOUMIS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Pillar of the Greek economy
Visiting the Acropolis in Athens. As Greeks head to the polls in national elections on Sunday, the country’s two top parties are unnerving
the tourism industry with proposals that would crimp hotels and resorts, even though they represent a rare bright spot for the anemic Greek economy. PAGE 14
Sites of horror now shrines
PARIS
Scenes of Paris attacks
draw dignitaries and
citizens, sharing grief
BY LIZ ALDERMAN
The light of a candle flickered across Silvana DiPonzeo’s face as she leaned down
to read one of the hundreds of notes and
cartoons strewn among heaps of flowers
near Charlie Hebdo’s former offices.
Since two gunmen stormed the offices
this month and massacred the satirical
magazine’s editors for publishing irreverent depictions of the prophet
Muhammed, she has made two pilgrimages from her home in Paris’s 19th Arrondissement to pay hommage to the
dead. Now she was returning for a third
time, in hopes of letting go of her grief.
‘‘Everyone in this country has been
touched by what happened. We’re still
reeling from it,’’ Ms. DiPonzeo said as
tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘‘Something was killed in the soul of every person.’’
She opened her purse and fished out a
black sticker, emblazoned with a single
word in white: ‘‘Liberté.’’ ‘‘I’m here to
grieve,’’ she said, placing it along a row
of candles. ‘‘But I’m also here because
we cannot let our liberty and freedom of
speech die.’’
Nearly two weeks after 17 people
were killed around Paris in the worst
terror attacks in France’s modern his-
tory, the sites of the carnage have
turned into impromptu shrines.
They also have become gathering
places for the French and people from
other countries to share their sadness
and to leave messages of peace and
hope — in French, Hebrew, Arabic, English and many other languages, in a
global expression of solidarity.
Dignitaries have come, too, including
Secretary of State John Kerry. On this
frigid January morning, a handful of visitors were jolted from their solemnity
when the mayor of New York, Bill de
Blasio, drove up in a multicar caravan
with Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris.
Linking arms with Patrick Pelloux, a
member of the Charlie Hebdo staff, they
laid a large bouquet atop the piles of
roses, hyacinths, lilies, tulips, mums,
orchids and other flowers that in some
places were already stacked knee deep.
Surrounded by an extensive security
detail, Mr. de Blasio had already placed
a wreath at the kosher market in eastern Paris where the police say another
man killed four hostages in a siege that
PARIS, PAGE 4
CAPUCINE GRANIER-DEFERRE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A makeshift memorial in Paris on Tuesday for Ahmed Merabet, the police officer who
was shot and killed as he lay wounded on a sidewalk after the attack at Charlie Hebdo.
ONLINE AT INY T. COM
Rebels step up attacks in Yemen
Miss Lebanon was just minding her
business, she says, when Miss Israel
came along and took a snapshot —
implying that she had been fraternizing
with the enemy. nytimes.com/middleeast
Houthi fighters shelled the presidential
residence and palace in Yemen in an
escalation of the fighting that has raised
fears of a coup in one of the Mideast’s
weakest countries. WORLD NEWS, 5
Writing your way to happiness
JABIN BOTSFORD/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa rehearsed her remarks Tuesday for the Republican response.
The Boko Haram menace
Obama to reset his goals in State of the Union address
As top conferences and sports gain
benefits, some in the less-lucrative
areas of the N.C.A.A. worry they will
have fewer resources. nytimes.com/sports
President Obama was expected on
Tuesday night to urge action on issues
deferred by the nation’s economic
struggles in recent years. Find complete
coverage of his address, including video
and graphics, at nytimes.com.
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’:HIKKLD=WUXUU\:?a@l@m@b@a"
POOL PHOTO BY MOHAMAD TOROKMAN
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a visit
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IN THIS ISSUE
No. 41,011
Business 14
Crossword 13
Culture 10
Opinion 6
Science 9
Sports 12
t
s
t
s
Euro
Pound
Yen
S. Franc
NEW YORK, TUESDAY 12:30PM
€1=
£1=
$1=
$1=
PREVIOUS
$1.1560
$1.1600
$1.5160
$1.5110
¥118.440 ¥117.550
SF0.8750 SF0.8790
Full currenc y rates Pa ge 17
By dressing a model in lingerie rather
than showing her topless, The Sun, a
British tabloid, seems to have accepted a
change in social mores. BUSINESS, 15
The murderous Islamist insurgency
led by Boko Haram has become a crisis
that Nigerian voters can no longer
ignore, Tolu Ogunlesi writes. OPINION, 6
STOCK INDEXES
TUESDAY
t The Dow 12:30pm 17,373.72
s FTSE 100 close
6,620.10
s Nikkei 225 close
17,366.30
OIL
–0.79%
+0.52%
+2.07%
NEW YORK, TUESDAY 12:30PM
t Light sweet crude
$46.74
–$0.83
© Didier Gourdon
nytimes.com/business
or e-mail usDenmark
at [email protected]
DKr 26
FRANCE, PAGE 4
JAPAN, PAGE 5
A cover-up, of sorts, on Page 3
The petroleum exporters’ group has
lost its power over crude prices. For an
explanation, look to America’s energy
policy, Eduardo Porter writes.
Latvia ¤ 3.25
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Israel NIS 13.00/Eilat NIS 11.00 Luxembourg ¤ 3.00
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Ivory Coast CFA 2.500
Malta ¤ 3.00
Jordan. JD 1.50
Montenegro ¤ 2.00
Kazakhstan USD 3.50
Morocco MAD 25
Kenya K. SH. 200
Moscow Roubles 110
Kosovo ¤ 2.50
Nigeria NGN 390
Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday cited a deep divide in France, likening it to a state of ‘‘territorial, social,
ethnic apartheid’’ that had left part of
the population on the cultural fringe.
Mr. Valls, often regarded as the most
popular politician in the leftist government of President François Hollande,
has been known for his outspokenness
and tough stance on radical Islam. The
day after the three-day siege of terror in
Paris that left 17 people dead at the
hands of three Islamic militants from
France, Mr. Valls spoke of waging a war
‘‘against terrorism, against jihadism,
against radical Islam, against everything that is aimed at breaking fraternity, freedom, solidarity.’’
But during a traditional new year’s
speech to journalists on Tuesday, Mr.
Valls acknowledged that France had a
deeply rooted problem that, he implied,
had resulted in a divided society.
‘‘These last few days have emphasized many of the evils which have undermined our country from within, or
challenges we have to face,’’ he said. ‘‘To
that we must add all the divisions, the
tensions that have been brewing for too
long and that we mention sporadically.’’
‘‘A territorial, social, ethnic apartheid
The country’s gross domestic product
grew 7.4 percent in 2014, the slowest rate
in 24 years, adding to fears of a broader
economic slowdown. BUSINESS, 14
The decline of OPEC
Cyprus ¤ 48
2.90
Germany27
¤ 3.00
00800 44
78
Czech Rep CZK 110 Gibraltar £ 1.35
BY MAÏA DE LA BAUME
Economic growth slows in China
Some researchers believe that by
writing and editing our own stories, we
can identify obstacles that stand in the
way of better health. nytimes.com/health
Andorra ¤ 3.50
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Belgium ¤3.00
Bosnia & Herzegovina KM 5.00
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Cameroon CFA 2.500
Canada C$ 5.50
Croatia KN 20.00
PARIS
I NSIDE TODAY’S PAP E R
Beauty queen’s selfie turns political
A divide in college sports
French premier
warns nation
of ‘apartheid’
A video posted online Tuesday showing
a masked militant threatening to kill
two kneeling Japanese men has confronted Japan with the same sort of hostage nightmare already faced by the
United States and other nations. Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to try to
save the men, while also saying he
would not give in to intimidation.
The crisis could also create a different
sort of challenge for Mr. Abe, who was
traveling in the Middle East when the
video appeared. Political analysts said
the images of the young Japanese men,
dressed in the same kind of orange
jumpsuits worn by hostages who were
beheaded in previous videos, could
mean trouble for the prime minister, by
turning Japan’s still deeply pacifist public against his pursuit of a more active
role for Japan in global security issues.
The video, posted by extremists of the
Islamic State, showed the two Japanese
men, identified as Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, kneeling on a rocky hillside
with the knife-wielding masked militant
standing between them. The militant appeared to be reading a prepared statement, demanding that Tokyo pay a
ransom of $200 million within 72 hours.
The militant linked the ransom demand to an offer that Mr. Abe made on
Saturday, promising nonmilitary aid to
nations aligned against the Islamic
State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Mr.
Abe pledged $200 million to help shore
up the government of Iraq and to assist
refugees in Turkey, Syria and Lebanon
who have fled the Islamic State’s rise.
‘‘To the Japanese public, just as how
your government has made the foolish
decision to pay 200 million to fight the
Islamic State, you now have 72 hours to
pressure your government in making a
wise decision by paying the 200 million
to save the lives of your citizens,’’ the
masked man said in the video, speaking
in English with what sounded like a
British accent. ‘‘Otherwise this knife
will become your nightmare.’’
The masked man’s voice, manner and
attire were similar to those of a person
seen in earlier videos showing the beheadings of two Americans, James Fo-
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