Transparency for all
It is not the first time that a government of this country, this time the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition, is seeking to bring a part of the news media under its control. Others have tried to do the same before, and the outcome has always been dire.
Such ambitions mean that politicians end up working together with entrepreneurs who move in a gray area, who have pending court cases (or other outstanding affairs), or who depend on state money to survive. Such synergies occasionally mean working with blackmailers or crooks.
However, unholy alliances are bound to be short-lived. The veterans of political and business entanglement have an insatiable appetite. If they sense that their demands are not being met, they will start to bite. Or they will simply seek to forge new alliances.
It is a tested recipe and the outcome is always the same. The only solution is to have the same laws and regulations for all. The Greek government – and those who may one day succeed it – better realize that any other option carries risk. And it comes with political damage for our democracy.
