Editorial To Vima: Talk of elections, handouts, and division

We may be in the period when the people go swimming, as the prime minister told journalists, but it seems the minds and concerns of government cadres are on the next elections. Whenever Mr. Tsipras decides to hold them, it is already clear to everyone that we are in what has all the markings of an electoral period.

All of the government’s plans aim at preparing a suitable climate that will lead to elections. On the one hand, as we saw in yesterday’s meeting of the political council of SYRIZA, they are looking to give handouts to specific social groups in order to rally as much as they can their erstwhile political audience. On the other hand, they are cultivating a climate of polarisation and division, utilising both real and non-existent scandals. As a result, political life, as the opposition has joined the fray, is leading to a clash without limits and without rules.

Undoubtedly, the coming months will be traumatic for the economy, for political life, and for society. On the one hand, we will celebrate the end of bailout memorandums with fiestas, and on the other there will be a ruthless battle for political dominance.

With existing commitments and obligations to our creditors, with the FYROM naming issue continuing to divide people, with borderline Greek-Turkish relations and with unpredictable geopolitical developments in the broader region, the mix is exceedingly heavy for a country and an economy struggling to stand on its feet.

For the ruling majority, the broader national interest is the last thing that concerns them. What takes precedence is their own political survival and ensuring their privileges.

Talk of elections and handouts and a polarised, divisive climate is literally a disastrous combination. Who will invest in the country and how will the markets be calmed when doubt and uncertainty about the next day prevail?

This impasse cannot be extended based on the electoral interests of SYRIZA. The economy and the country overall needs calm and political stability at long last, in order to engender hope that the sacrifices of so many years will not be squandered.