The failings of a hijacked state
No one doubts that the phone-tapping scandal has made a mockery of the state… Moreover, it has served to demonstrate how difficult it can be to preserve national sovereignty and dignity. Perhaps, in the final analysis, most of us would prefer to be «in on the game.» This, however, is an unrealistic scenario because major «allies» such as the USA would find it difficult to trust the secret services of a state such as ours, which has been hijacked by political and business interests. All this was no doubt on the minds of those citizens who expressed «insecurity as regards their rights» in an opinion poll conducted this month by VPRC on behalf of Skai Radio. This feeling has taken root because our state has grown accustomed to depriving individuals of the respect and concern they deserve – and because we prefer to continue shadowboxing with the phantoms of imperialism instead of looking at the world realistically and with faith in a state geared toward serving its citizens. On the other hand, what could our authorities – the government, judiciary and Parliament – have done differently? A lot. First and foremost, the government could have reacted more directly and decisively on being briefed about the scandal in which it had become mired. When the state is struck to its very core, it has the right to be more outspoken – unless, of course, it had been aware of the situation all along and preferred to leave it to the judiciary to bury.
