Dispersing the fog
The ruling elite is mouthing assurances that Greece is a powerful, safe, modernizing state with considerable international leverage, and thus people should be feeling a new self-confidence. At the same time, however, people are faced with a less promising picture: They hear politicians referring to the entangelment of political and business interests, to scandals and factions which block progress. More recently, they heard allegations on the existence of «extra-institutional centers» and «ruthless» media which cause problems, not only for the country’s political circles, and government performance in particular, but even to the point of jeopardizing democratic institutions and the entire political system. It could be that this is the way things are – or that politicians and political groups are presenting them in this way in order to meet their own self-serving objectives. As a result, Greek society is called upon to generate creative forces which will combat – with courage and rationality – the great challenges of the «new era» amid a bewildering fog of intertwined interests and extra-institutional centers. This fog is one which politics has long been unable to dispel, for a section of politics is actually responsible for its creation. But if the country’s two major political groups are, in turn, hurling accusations at the activity of «centers» and «entangled interests» which put a brake on progress, then what expectations could a society possibly have, and in what climate and with what morale could it engage in productive activities? The political sphere is in a very bad state today. And everything said behind the scenes regarding the activity of «extra-institutional centers» are both depressing and raise uncomfortable questions about the future. Because it is not measures aimed at restoring legality to broadcasts which constitute the central issue. Nor does the country’s future depend on the quality of some sordid television shows. The party waged a 15-year armed struggle for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey that claimed about 36,500 lives.
