Trying to make sense of it all
Maybe Panos Kammenos, the leader of the Independent Greeks party, is right after all. Maybe we are being sprayed by chemtrails. For there can be no other explanation for what we have been witnessing over the past few months.
For example, it’s hard to explain – using common sense – the behavior of the former head of the country’s privatization agency, Stelios Stavridis. In interviews following the emergence of the scandal, Mr Stavridis admitted that his dismissal by the government was justified.
At the same time, however, the TAIPED chief has said that he saw nothing wrong in what he did (in reference to his decision to travel on the private plane of a member of the consortium involved in the purchase of state gaming firm OPAP).
What Mr Stavridis is saying is that he would do it again, if he had the chance.
Similarly, it is hard to explain the decision to appoint Christos Papoutsis, a former minister in socialist PASOK administrations, as Greece’s representative to the World Bank. Or, for that matter, the appointment of failed politicians as heads of important bodies such as the agricultural insurance organization (OGA) or the country’s main healthcare provider, EOPPY – posts that require special skills. There is no shortage of similar examples.
Meanwhile, the statements coming from the opposition’s side do not make much sense either – whether these concern political and economic measures to deal with the lingering financial crisis, or unfortunate events like the recent tragedy in Peristeri where a 19-year-old man lost his life, which could have occurred in any place at any time.
Opposition politicians on the left as well as on the right are behaving as if they want to undermine all efforts to dig the country out of the crisis by creating obstacles or by raising tension.
Of course Greeks have a soft spot for conspiracy theories, but sometimes it feels as if ignorance, stupidity and absurdity are influencing public debate more than we would like to admit. The quality of the current Greek Parliament and a large part of the news media are indicative of this. It’s hard to say whether the social media are a blessing or a curse either.
It’s extremely hard to interpret current events or the dominant mentality employing the tools of sociology, mass psychology or history. The Greek reality, as it were, is from top to bottom a totally unfathomable experience. It defies explanation. Chemtrail theories could provide some comfort to most of us after all.
