Double standards

New Democracy’s decision to nominate Fredi Beleri, the imprisoned mayor of Himare, as a candidate for the European Parliament aims to highlight Albania’s violation of the rule of law as a European concern. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis made this clear on Wednesday, while also condemning attempts to monopolize these “progressive” issues.

Indeed, the government’s stance becomes contradictory when it dismisses criticism from the European Parliament concerning its performance on the rule of law. It cannot reject criticism when it is directed toward itself but then become oversensitive when the issue pertains to Greece’s Balkan neighbor, Albania.

Main opposition SYRIZA suffers from the same “double standards” syndrome. SYRIZA President Stefanos Kasselakis criticized favoritism and nepotism just months ago, yet on Monday, he announced the inclusion of his cousin, Vasilis Kasselakis, in the party’s preliminary list of European election candidates. How credible does his condemnation of influential political families sound now?

The government cannot reject criticism when it is directed toward itself but then become oversensitive when the issue pertains to Greece’s Balkan neighbor, Albania

Similarly, does PASOK have the right to criticize New Democracy for populist choices unrelated to Europe when it includes figures like former Greece soccer captain Theodoros Zagorakis, ex-javelin champion Anna Verouli, and senior police officer and TV talking head George Kalliakmanis in its contest? Is Nikos Androulakis’ criticism of Kasselakis justified when he claims his “lifestyle politics” benefit the Mitsotakis government? And is Androulakis’ own party exempt from this criticism, especially considering its search for a lifestyle candidate to avoid a potential third or fourth place in the European elections?

The common thread of the “double standards” syndrome lies in the underestimation of the electorate. Party executives often believe they know “what the people want” and make sure they offer it, whether it’s a celebrity candidate (but why then did TV presenter Giorgos Liagas fail to be elected with PASOK in 2007?), a conservative option “to stop the leak of voters toward the right in northern Greece” (so how did progressive Yannis Boutaris manage to become Thessaloniki mayor?), or a photogenic presence with the aim of projecting what the media stereotypically refer to as “scent of a woman” (so why are merely six of 21 candidates women?).

However, voters’ choices are far less predictable than assumed, often surprising even the know-it-all communication experts – in pleasant or unpleasant ways.