Small majority, big workload
The people have had their say and have renewed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’s mandate, albeit with a smaller parliamentary majority. Now it is up to him to decide how he will make use of the opportunity to carry out crucial reforms and to staff the government and state machinery with only capable people, including those from other political parties. If he does this, it will be a decision of historical import. It is up to him to decide to leave his mark, making use of the fresh mandate. He must ensure that no informal centers of influence exploit the new situation in Parliament to further their own interests. The people voted for more innovation and less compromise. But the country also needs a strong opposition, a PASOK party that is modern and that has proposals to make. The main opposition party is in major crisis. It will be a terrible mistake if the party allows factors outside itself to drive developments in the party, or if it slides toward populism as the remedy for its defeat. The prime minister set things out well with his speech ending the election campaign on Friday, when he set forth the dilemma, «radical changes or a dead end.» This is precisely what applies to PASOK, to the prime minister and to the country.
