Opposition should only go so far
It is rather shocking to see the abhorrence that the mere idea of a national consensus on the government?s reform program stirs in certain circles of the opposition New Democracy party.
It?s true they?re right when they argue that Prime Minister George Papandreou needs to ensure that there is consensus within his own government before he goes around asking for other parties to support his efforts. They are also right when they accuse him of having made a criminal mistake back when he was in opposition by refusing to publicly express his support for certain necessary and inescapable measures introduced by the former premier, Costas Karamanlis.
However, the situation is very much changed today and Greece is on the brink of collapse. Given the severity of the circumstances, it is ridiculous to see certain New Democracy officials scrambling in such a way to win a fraction of a percentage point in a public opinion poll.
Public opinion demands consensus and a rallying of political parties, not the kind of oppositional politics that belongs to a different decade.
