Greece's crippling economic crisis has prompted its best-known singer, Nana Mouskouri, to offer the country her pension in a bid to tackle its massive debt. Mouskouri will offer her pension to help tackle her country's debt. Mouskouri, whose best known songs include Greece, Land of Dreams and The White Rose of Athens, served as a member of the European parliament for five years in the 1990s and draws a pension from Brussels. The diva, who recorded 1,500 songs during a career spanning half a century, said she would donate her pension "until the country emerges from the economic crisis."
She was upset by the way Greece had been portrayed around the world, she told the Eleftherotypia daily newspaper.
"I do not want Greece to be treated like a cancer," she said.
There have been widespread calls for wealthy Greeks, including those from the country's huge diaspora, to contribute money to a national fund to help the country climb out of its economic black hole.
Mouskouri, who was born in Crete, has sold more than 300 million records, making her one of the best-selling singers of all time.
During a 50-year career she recorded with Quincy Jones and Julio Iglesias, had a song written for her by Bob Dylan and performed in more than half a dozen languages.
03.03.2010
