By D. Rigopoulos

How did former Education Minister Marietta Giannakou feel when she heard the poll results from the electoral district of Athens? How did she receive the news that she had lost the battle of the ballot, knowing that the battle was practically lost from the onset? Did her disappointment about her defeat overshadow her joy for her party’s success? How did the sounds of celebration ring in her ears?

Giannakou will not be present in the next Parliament. She came in at 10th place in the polls and her party elected seven ministers for that particular district.

Giannakou’s defeat seems to have satisfied a certain portion of the public that exploded over her reforms of tertiary education. Her failure to secure the necessary votes was seen as a kind of divine justice.

Nevertheless, this kind of thinking shows a complete lack of political insight. Giannakou was crucified by New Democracy voters. According to opinion polls carried out during the unrest at the country’s universities, the reforms Giannakou was attempting to push through had the approval of a large section of the Greek public and certainly of the party base. It is, to say the least, completely contradictory for a citizen to endorse the government’s policies by voting for New Democracy and to condemn a particular minister for trying to apply a basic reform policy.

There is another scenario that seems to have a lot more truth in it. Giannakou was “punished” by the party’s electoral base not because she went ahead with critical reforms to the education system, but because she staunchly resisted those nationalist circles crying out for the withdrawal of the notorious sixth-grade history textbook.

The former minister did not shirk when faced with this expanding tidal wave of dissent. She used the language of reason and paid the price for it. Maybe she was prepared for the backlash, and maybe she wasn’t. Public opinion polls had already provided her with the warning signals, as a sizable portion of society stated their displeasure at her handling of the issue. Pollsters had predicted that the history book issue would have a negative impact on New Democracy’s standing in the elections. In the end, no one really suffered – except for Giannakou.

She was one of the government’s strongest reformist voices. She defended a draft law that included, among others, an evaluation system for professors and the operation of non-state universities – measures already in place in most civilized parts of the world. She stood up against the most reactionary voices of Greek society and the people of Athens reacted and got just what they deserved. They sent her packing. And now, relieved of her pesky presence, we can continue charging ahead into the future.