Cover up
There is a lot of talk lately about the ongoing political uncertainty, about the present political turmoil which could trigger changes, exert pressures and accelerate developments. This climate of uncertainty has given rise to political scenarios; some of them appear reasonable, while others quite absurd. People talk about elections, they foster expectations of political alliances or changes to the electoral law, so as to bolster their own political ambitions with respect to the forthcoming elections. Even Athens 2004 President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki felt the need to say yesterday that the success of Greece’s Olympic Games presupposes political stability. Everyone acknowledges that something is indeed going on and everyone is expecting to see developments, but what these may be remains vague. What is worse, no one refers to the root cause of these developments. But what recently happened? What is it that has caused so much uncertainty without anyone putting their finger on it? What is the decisive incident that has upset our confidence in the country’s political stability? Since everyone is discussing it behind closed doors, but no one admits to it in public, the major issue which has recently surfaced is nothing but the charges against business tycoon Socrates Kokkalis. It is this development which has generated forecasts of changing political scenarios over the potential repercussions of his legal prosecution and the possible entanglement of the political elite with Kokkalis’s business activities. The fallout will determine future political developments. In other words, this is a major issue. Perhaps it is the gravest issue of the last 15 years, and it is striking that there is so much talk about the fallout, while the event itself – which has thrown politics and the economy into confusion – is suppressed. The thoughts of the political elite are unknown but the silence and the political self-delusion are of no service. They only intensify the climate of uncertainty and strengthen the public’s belief in the existence of political and business entanglements, while also fostering the feeling that this is being kept secret and sheltered. In any case, nothing can be covered up in a democracy, as hard as some may try.
