A diplomacy built on fear
In the case of the launch of Turkish talks with the European Union, Greece’s political leadership once again opted to follow the course taken by its predecessor and limit itself to meaningless platitudes. The government claimed that the previous PASOK regime had tied its hands by curbing its diplomatic maneuverability. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said the government had acted according to a «well-thought-out strategy» and was laying out the groundwork for a future which «would satisfy the desire of the Greek people for peace and stability.» The only way these two stances can be plausibly linked is if we believe that this «well-thought-out strategy» relieved the government of constraints with which PASOK had ostensibly shackled it. But why did political commentators affiliated to ruling New Democracy, who generally jump at the chance to criticize what they see as diplomatic defeats, fail to home in on this instance? And why did the government not try to explain exactly which restrictions it had inherited from PASOK and how it had managed to overcome them? How can it be, with so many loquacious ministers who condemn their predecessors at the drop of a hat, that not one has analyzed this diplomatic triumph for the government? The likeliest answer is that there was, in fact, no triumph…
