Popularity stakes now irrelevant
It is hardly surprising that no minister is happy about having to assume responsibility and suffer the damage to his or her popularity resulting from the tough reforms outlined in the memorandum that has just been voted through Parliament. After all, this fear of political responsibility is to a great extent the reason why Greece is in its present predicament, because so many politicians put off for tomorrow the changes that needed to be made today out of fear that it would tarnish their nice-guy image. The decisions they are being called upon to implement today, however, will not just have an impact on their futures, but on the future of the country as a whole. It is their right to want to be liked by every group that gave them its support at election time, but it is the responsibility of the prime minister and their other superiors to explain to them that the popularity game is over. They need to be made to understand that if they fail in the tasks assigned to them in the memorandum, the country will have to declare bankruptcy.
