Polarizing tactic is worthless
As the pre-election period draws to a close and Greeks head for the polls in European parliamentary elections this Sunday, the campaigning has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many a voter. As we prepare to cast our ballots, we cannot help but feel profoundly troubled by the vehement exchanges between the country’s two biggest parties as each accused the other of involvement in scandals, by the mudslinging between the two leaders and the games that we have seen played with some of the country’s most fundamental institutions. While Greece’s political parties may believe that the tactic of polarizing the population into one camp or the other is tried and tested and bound to bring them success, they are proving themselves oblivious to the fact that times, and Greeks, have changed. And, if there is one thing that makes these elections different from others, it is that we have not seen a positive trend toward any one party in particular. What we have seen is rivalry, indeed fierce contention over which party will garner more votes from the disillusioned and the dissatisfied. This alone is a worrying omen for the course taken by our political system.
