Undue triumphalism
PASOK is rubbing its hands gleefully as it has been presented with a fresh opportunity to lash out at the conservatives only a few days after the helicopter tragedy and the ensuing mayhem. The Socialist reaction was to be expected, as in politics such opportunities rarely pass by unexploited. However, a more realistic approach would show that the triumphalism coming from the opposition camp and its affiliated media about the conservative government having ostensibly exhausted its grace period do not correspond to reality. Although the controversy over the transfer of a minister’s son from a university in Crete to a more prestigious institution in the capital will inflict a bigger political cost than the Chinook accident, the issue could also have a positive fallout for the government. The prompt and decisive reaction of the prime minister, who sacked one of his «successful» ministers (who also happens to be a personal friend of his) should be welcomed by the public. The view that Agriculture Minister Savvas Tsitouridis paid the price of the premier’s earlier decision not to remove Spilios Spiliotopoulos, his defense minister, on the grounds that there was no «political responsibility» for the accident, is groundless. In the former case, it was – mistakenly – deemed that the defense chief was not politically responsible. In the latter, there may be not be political responsibility in the usual sense, but there is very grave personal responsibility as a minister showed preferential treatment toward a member of his own family.
