Institutional challenges

In the first parliamentary confrontations, the new government majority has displayed a political culture quite different from that which dominated in the recent past. The type and style of the confrontations were markedly different. This image – of great political change – has been stained by the repetition of old-fashioned practices, such as the submission of last-minute amendments without debate, or the maintenance of useless structures that only serve the party, such as the so-called Prime Minister’s Office in Thessaloniki.

The details are important when it comes to assessing the political culture. But it will be judged, first and foremost, on how the ensuing major confrontations are handled – and in particular the investigation of cases concerning the previous administration. That is where the new government’s self-control will be tested: in whether it will respect the procedures and presumption of innocence, and whether it can shed light on all those cases with sang-froid and without resorting to the mudslinging tactics of former alternate health minister Pavlos Polakis.