Beware the wolves of populism
If we wish to avoid the worst possible scenario for this country, then we ought to condemn the near-cannibalistic attacks on Socialist officials that we have witnessed over the past few days.
While a similar vilification campaign was staged in the dying days of Costas Karamanlis?s New Democracy administration, many PASOK MPs were privately or openly condoning the attacks on their conservative counterparts. Now the Socialists are the ones getting frustrated at the centers of extreme populism that speak of ?betrayal? and cultivate a climate of bigotry. After all, in many cases, PASOK officials are being attacked by those that helped them climb to power to begin with.
Unless our political leaders do not condemn these attacks, no sensible person will want to engage in domestic politics, let alone govern this country.
Everyone should know that such phenomena are a prelude to civil conflict. And one more thing: These extreme populist centers tend to establish unholy alliances on the basis of short-term interests — only to ditch their allies when they are no longer of use to them.
