Time for 11th hour rethink
It really is a shame that Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias has opted out of standing for election in Larissa in the upcoming polls and that this has meant the prime minister has had to step in instead. Had Souflias – who is considered to be one of the main driving forces behind the decision to announce snap elections – actually done so, he would have been able to prove two things: the first being that he is ready to shoulder the same risks that he insisted Costas Karamanlis take in the first place and, secondly, he would also show he is willing to give the prime minister room to introduce new faces on the state candidate list, rather than ensuring a nomination for himself. The personal strategies pursued by certain members of the New Democracy government, such as, for example, failing to establish a separate ministry for the environment on time, have taken a heavy toll on the ruling party in the past five years. Now it is time for all those who behaved in this manner to change their tune, even if it is in the final hour.
