Nothing but noise

The wounds from last summer’s deadly wildfires in eastern Attica are still very fresh. We can still hear the echoes of ministers’ promises to bring out the demolition crews to tear down illegal structures on the country’s coasts like those that contributed to the loss of life in the seaside town of Mati.

The symbolism behind such proclamations was evident: Ruling SYRIZA was likening itself to a bulldozer that would tear down everything rotten that was built by the old political establishment.

Now, the government has presented lawmakers with a bill that will allow the owners of unlicensed structures on the coasts of Greece to legalize them for a fee, en masse.

This is yet another example of the anti-systemic bulldozer making nothing but noise. Instead of clearing up the debris left over from the Metapolitefsi – as the post-junta period is known in Greece – it is carrying them forward.