By Nikos Xydakis

The statements made on Thursday by Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis to Skai TV opened a new chapter in the political code of conduct: He said that anything that is legal is also ethical. Succinctly, and in his own defense, Voulagrakis put into words what so many politicians have been doing for years – pushing the bounds of legality and ethics.

The divorce of politics from morality has been a silent, lengthy affair. Shrewd survivors, Greeks have stopped focusing on the fine print; they have accepted corruption as long as something comes out of it to the benefit of the greater good. Yet even these shrewd survivors, who are open to bribing and being bribed, know that there are limits. They may be vague, but they are there. Two such limits that should not be crossed yet so often are greed and arrogance. These are the big tests for the powers-that-be and these are invoked by politicians in their quest for power. These limits, doubtlessly ethical ones, were invoked by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis shortly before his election and his message was heard by the shrewd, yet modest, voters.

Displaying one’s wealth is not a crime; it is tacky. Evading taxes may in some cases be in line with the law, but it is unethical when it is being done by a minister of the state at a time when the country’s weakest members are burdened by taxes. Abuse of power may take on many different forms and cannot necessarily be judged in terms of the letter of the law, but it is seen by every citizen as a moral deviation, a blatant provocation of public opinion.

Democracy is founded in the Constitution and in the law, it always strives to be tangible and expressed in objective terms. But when it is stripped of the code of ethics and individual accountability, when the battle against the usual mortal sins and a sense of the common good is abandoned, then democracy cannot function. It becomes transformed into a business, one that appears legal, but is unethical. Is this what we want? A business/democracy?