Beyond the scandals
There is no doubt that virtually every active, informed and prudent citizen in this country believes that the remaining time left until the March 7 elections should be dedicated, by all parties, to essential political dialogue, to a comparison of policies, programs and alternative solutions for existing problems; to presenting detailed and developed strategies for improving the everyday life of the average Greek, along with medium-term visions of durable development and prosperity. However much the focus on scandals and suspicious activities, as well as the oversights of the existing government, can be justified in view of current developments (the opposition did not just conjure up the Pachtas amendment, and the uproar which followed its revelation was blown out of all proportion by the way PASOK’s leader-in-waiting reacted to his colleagues) this cannot continue until the March 7 elections because it will eventually have a disorienting effect on the public. But there is a great distance between this logical observation and what George Papandreou is trying to project as the «real picture.» «In the face of such scandalmongering… we lay the foundations for transparency upon the citizen’s active participation,» Fair enough: We have said that the entire pre-election period should not focus exclusively on scandals and corruption, but let’s not pretend we can just whitewash everything and pretend that such scourges do not exist.
