A mature stance
The decision reached by Greece’s main opposition New Democracy party to just vote present in a parliamentary vote provoked by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Thursday was the right one.
It is ludicrous for consensus to be sought only when this serves the communication strategy of the coalition SYRIZA-Independent Greeks administration.
Speaking of the one-off supplement for low-income pensioners that was announced by the prime minister last week, the money that he plans to use to that end would have served a much better purpose had it been made available to the state to pay arrears owed to businesses which are struggling or for measures aimed at genuine growth.
Nevertheless, cynical tactics do not allow for this kind of responsible decision, although some government officials did support the idea.
In any case, New Democracy showed a certain level of maturity by refusing to give in to blackmail.
