‘Reshuffling the deck’
If all our political parties really are in accord regarding the crackdown on corruption, especially in the handling of public finances, then they should amend their public statements accordingly so that the public can fully grasp the significance and extent of the problem. This should be done as soon as possible. The proliferation of different stances and opinions regarding the phenomenon of corruption is currently just confusing the public, and will eventually completely alienate it. One of these opinions is that of opposition PASOK – that the whole matter is attributable to «a conflict of interests» or that it is aimed at «reshuffling the deck,» in the words of George Papandreou. To date, the PASOK chief has been creating the impression that he does not share the conviction of his predecessor Costas Simitis that the governance of the country (particularly over the past eight years) has been peerless and irreproachable and that charges of corruption were nothing more than groundless slander. On the contrary, Papandreou said recently that his party recognizes that there is a problem with corruption and that it will assist prosecutors’ investigations and accept the guilt of cadres of its own, should this be proven. So why is he now casting doubt upon this probe from the very outset by stating that the government is aiming to «reshuffle the deck»?
