Greek State TV Shows How to Steal Gas From Cars, Prompting Criticism

Greek state TV ran a news segment on Wednesday showing viewers how to steal gas from cars, prompting criticism at a time when the nation’s average fuel price is now over 2.4 euros ($2.53) per liter.

During the morning broadcast on ERT’s “Syndeseis,” a car mechanic demonstrated how to siphon the gas from a vehicle. The reporter, Costas Stamou, told viewers the process was “not something terribly complicated,” and then added, “you don’t even need a special tube, even a hose for balconies will do.”

The segment came at the two-hour mark of the two-hour and twenty-minute broadcast at then end of a longer segment on rising gas prices.

The clip went viral after Luben, a satirical website, mixed and repackaged it.

After the news segment was posted on Twitter, commenters criticized it for promoting criminal behavior:. One upset viewer wrote: “Are you guys in your right mind? Giving people tips on stealing gasoline?”

Since April, fuel prices have jumped in Greece, rising 0.40 euros, and on the islands, the prices per liter ticked up to 2.50 euros, as reported in Rhodes.

Gas Subsidies

This week, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the extension of a subsidy for fuel consumption for the next three months to ease the burden on the budgets of households and businesses amid the ongoing international energy crisis.

Consumers who received 35 to 55 euros ($37 to $58) for consumption of gas for cars and motorcycles in the second quarter, will now receive 60 to 100 euros for July until October, Mitsotakis said.

In May, the inflation rate in Greece jumped to its highest rate in nearly thirty years, reaching 11.3 percent. That’s up from 10.2 percent in April, according to data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority.

Price increases are fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the cost of Russian energy and Ukrainian grain dramatically spiking. Businesses and households continue to face a massive wave of increases with the government struggling to reel them in.

Greece has avoided cutting down gas tax, however. This week, US President Joe Biden urged a three-month gas tax suspension, though it seems unlikely the US Congress will approve the call.