Ignorant public
The electoral campaign wraps up tomorrow night and the two front runners in the national polls have said all they had to say to the electorate. The arguments, the promises, the commitments, the references to grand visions and to «the people’s voice» have come to an end. The only things remaining, two days before the vote, are the election rallies to be held by the two main parties. The more politically involved citizen will have noticed that the two main rivals have systematically overlooked the two central foreign policy issues, namely Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue. PASOK, though now chaired by a former foreign minister, avoided touching substantially on these two issues. And New Democracy didn’t seem to have any problem with that. Regarding the crucial talks on the reunification of Cyprus, the Greek public at least has a chance to catch up on developments by reading reports from international organizations, Nicosia and Ankara. Things are different, however, on the issue of Greek-Turkish relations. On issues such as the «border disputes» and the legal status of the Aegean Sea, Greek citizens can only listen to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recently told Turkish media that the lengthy bilateral negotiations have actually been fruitful. Erdogan said progress had been made in settling differences in the Aegean. But exactly what progress has been made? Greek citizens are not adult enough to be informed of developments between Athens and Ankara. Or so our bright political stars have it. However, whether they like it or not, this issue – an issue with many facets and painful details – is bound to show its teeth soon, regardless of who is in charge and who is in the opposition.
