Parallel trials
Exactly as had been predicted, there is more than one trial currently under way. Apart from the major trial being played out in Korydallos Prison, there are another three or four versions being aired every evening on television channels which convey the proceedings with varying levels of seriousness. In any case, the TV «prosecutors» are always there. Only half of the lawyers in court appear concerned about following the strict rules governing their profession, just as about half of the journalists abide by their code of conduct; the opportunity for publicity is so dazzling that one would need the tolerance of a saint to resist it, especially if one has made a habit of appearing on television debate shows day and night, seeking fame, new cases that are good for public relations, money, and possibly also a local government post. But many witnesses (both defense and prosecution) also prefer to «present themselves» on TV rather than in a prison courtroom. Indeed, some of the defendants have succeeded in gaining a very high profile; some through telephone interviews, others through newspaper reports that television reporters reproduce for the spectrum of channels in their pompous way – thus proving it is easier to get a job as a journalist if you are a drama school rather than a media studies graduate. So, this is publicity: fake but deafening, razing, obscuring, inflating the insignificant to monstrous proportions, drowning politics in conspiracy theories. Superficiality reigns…
