State lists can make a difference
All the political parties running in the elections on October 4 have an obligation to announce their candidates for deputies of state by tomorrow. The electorate also has an obligation to remind the political parties that the purpose of the state candidate list is to attract as many professionals and specialists who work outside of political circles to step up and provide help and expertise where needed to Parliament without having to worry about the political implications of their decisions. The people of Greece will be very disappointed if the parties, and especially the two largest, New Democracy and socialist PASOK, do not take advantage of the opportunity that is being presented to use outside expertise and choose, instead, to waste these positions in order to help veteran politicians or other favored party members to retire from active duty gracefully. The situation for Greece is quite difficult right now, especially in light of the financial crisis, and there is no room to curry favor nor poor decisions made for all the wrong reasons.
