Greek Politicians Are Amusing... Really

That's the way I prefer to look at things when it comes to politics in this country: amusing. There are other ways to look at it, too. You could actually try to get involved to change things (and probably end up being swallowed by the system of corruption) or you could cry.

Yes, cry, because if you look at the overall picture of politics in Greece, and you really see the caricatures that are supposed to be our leaders, then you start thinking: "Hmmm, if it's true that politicians are just a mirror image of those who vote them in office, then we must be really screwed up!"

But then again, there really aren't that many choices, are there? For example, we've got elections coming up in a couple of weeks. Who do you vote for? The party that failed and wants a second chance or the party that just can't seem to take advantage of the leading party's failure? Despite almost six years of scandals and an inability to control even the politicians in his own party, Prime Minister Mr. Karamanlis preaches "responsibility" and "determination" to improve things. Those are the two most popular words in his speeches lately. He takes responsibility, he says, for the mess with the Vatopaidi case (you know, where the government was exchanging millions of euros worth of land with the monastery to get land of 1/10 of that value), and there's also the Siemens case (where the technology-giant was bribing both major political parties with millions in order to later land government projects), the millions of euros of tax-payer's money from the biggest insurance agency (IKA) gambled away and never truly accounted for, and so many other scandals that involved key ministers and politicians of his party, Nea Dimokratia. And so what if he takes responsibility? Is any of the stolen money returned? No. On the contrary, due to the "economic crisis" there will be more taxes, a relentless search for tax evaders (not among the rich, of course) and a very "rough road ahead" as he likes to say. But he needs people to remind him that he is wanted, again - two years after the last election. Hmmm... it seems to me likes he's quitting.

Ok, so if this guy isn't right for the job, who's the next one in line? The American boy of PASOK: Mr. Papandreou. You know... he tries really hard to look serious the poor guy, but he just can't pull it off. You feel the urge to doze off after the very first sentence of his speeches. He just doesn't have the fiery passion of politics in him - he's just the guy that had to continue the family tradition even though he probably doesn't want to. At least he's not showing anyone that he can pull the country out of the corruption pit. I haven't heard any solutions contrary to what Nea Dimokratia is saying and that I can adopt as a citizen. There's just constant blame for the opposite party. And don't tell me that buying back half of Olympic Airlines and OTE while also endorsing agriculture are valid solutions. For a country that's in debt billions of euros, I just don't see where that money will come from. But Mr. Papandreou can do it... because he's smart, and he exercises and rides his bike in public like leaders of "civilized" nations do. (Read about politicians in Greece at www.allthegreeks.com)