On course for chaos
Greece is on a steady course toward chaos. An explosion of violence – an abhorrence that so many said was not possible – is now a part of daily life. The murder of a young man by a person close to Golden Dawn or a member of the far-right party – the preliminary investigation has yet to determine his exact role – was a heinous crime. It remains to be seen, however, whether any good will come out of the manner in which the crime was made political – first and foremost because it reawakened and reactivated the extreme, extra-parliamentary left.
The assault against the head of the Independent Greeks party, Panos Kammenos, by protesters in Keratsini is a very bad omen. The way events have unfolded, the government has effectively waged a two-front battle and it is doubtful whether it will be able to meet a challenge of this dimension in such a short period of time. There is a danger of widespread social unrest and the government must prevent this at all cost.
Over the course of the past few decades successive governments have tolerated violence, which through Golden Dawn has almost become par for the course.
Over the last 15 months, the neo-Nazi party has demonstrated that its behavior inside and outside of Parliament consists of inherently violent elements that are manifested in every possibly way. And because countries are judged on their overall image, Greece is now at risk of finding itself knocked to the fringes of the European system, a possibility that is just as grave if not graver than the likelihood of bankruptcy.
And while the country’s political parties have ostensibly come together to form a common front against Golden Dawn, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s closest adviser thought it wise to claim yesterday that SYRIZA is not part of the so-called “constitutional axis.” This imaginative term is the invention of PASOK president Evangelos Venizelos from back when he was trying to curb the leak of voters to Alexis Tsipras’s leftist party. He failed to do so then.
The power of political parties is formed by society and the entire system should not forget that simple fact.
Former New Democracy leader Constantine Karamanlis was often criticized by the traditional conservative camp because he had a good grasp of the new reality and tried to steer the right-wing party toward a more moderate line.
Enough of the political stupidity, and this is said without any fondness for SYRIZA whatsoever.
