Wave of protest just ‘the usual strikes’?
Those are interesting public relations tactics being used by the government, at least if we are to judge from the public statements being made by its spokesman Christos Protopappas. We heard him maintain, during recent radio interviews, that «there is no such thing as a ‘wave of strikes’ – these are just the usual strikes by workers demanding salary rises that we see every October.» But it seems that, as time goes on and these «usual strikes» not only continue but extend to other sectors, Protopappas is finding it more strategically beneficial to shift from defensive to offensive tactics. During a radio interview on Tuesday, he was once again asked about how the government is responding to the «growing wave of strikes» and he appealed to the media to avoid «stoking tensions» by creating the impression «that all of Greece is on strike!» and to try and handle the situation «in a responsible way.» So, the media are to blame for reporting on which sectors are striking and which services are not operating daily. To be politically correct then, journalists shouldn’t talk about «a wave of strikes,» but simply note that there are no services being provided by: teachers, professors, hospital doctors, local authority staff, taxi drivers, judges and agronomists, among others… and that security forces staff are preparing for strike action too.
