Confusion is a great liability
Ongoing speculation about the prospect of early general elections, which is, in fact, also fueled by members of the ruling conservative party, has inflicted a great deal of political damage on the very interests of the government and the New Democracy party itself. The government of Costas Karamanlis and his conservative party appear to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, making an extremely bad impression on the country’s voters. And all at a time when a number of serious issues remain unresolved. Sure, it is the socialist PASOK opposition that first created waves of uncertainty by suggesting that it would not back the re-election of President Karolos Papoulias, a former socialist minister, in the coming presidential election. However, a number of recent statements by government ministers have added to the ambiguity. The country’s economic and political life cannot be held hostage to an undecided head of government. Any decisions by the prime minister must be announced without further delay.
