The dominance of political communication
The photo is great. It’s a bit like a movie poster from the Western “The Magnificent Seven.” In front walks Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and behind him follow several pilots, in a V formation. In the background – and right in the center – is a parked firefighting aircraft.
Communication is an integral part of politics. That is why party leaders rushed to visit the command centers of the Fire Service and Civil Protection during the mega-wildfire in Varnavas, and that is why they will be photographed in the burned areas. The opposition will paint the disaster with somewhat darker colors, in contrast to the government, which claimed, through Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias, that “fortunately, the damage is not extensive… A few houses have been partially damaged and even fewer have been completely destroyed. I still don’t know the exact number.”
The most impressive thing about this disaster is the management of its communication by the government. Five days after the blaze, we do not have a total assessment of the damage. According to the government, we don’t even know the extent of the burned area. According to Copernicus, the EU’s Earth observation program, the fire charred 104 square kilometers of land. “It’s not that much,” the minister said, without providing an alternative number.
Fortunately, there is information from media reports, according to which the first “130 inspections were carried out in buildings, of which 112 were residences, 13 warehouses, two public buildings and three business premises in northeastern Attica. Seventy-eight houses were classified as ‘red’ – i.e. unfit for use that should be demolished. Together with the ‘yellow’ ones (they require repair work), the total number of buildings checked amounts to 92, including warehouses and other spaces. Also, 38 buildings, residences and warehouses are characterized as suitable for use,” state-run broadcaster ERT reported on Wednesday.
The other thing we don’t know is how this wildfire started. There are testimonies from local residents and there is a video, shown on Star channel on Thursday, according to which “a power transmission pole exploded and a red-hot cable fell on dry grass and the fire started.” On the other hand, “the National Coordination Center for Operations and Crisis Management (ESKEDIK) of the Hellenic Police” issued a conclusion similar in style to that produced by the Supreme Court recently regarding the wiretapping scandal: It says that the fire did not start from a power transmission pole, but it does not tell us how it did. This, it says, will be announced in two months, when the news cycle will have changed and erased the poor impressions of the disaster.
Therefore, all that remains is to hope that nothing more will happen to us because we cannot hope for anything more.
