Shedding the excess baggage
The prime minister is not facing any easy decisions after his speech in Thessaloniki. First of all, he must clarify the objectives for his government, for instance what he plans to do about Olympic Airlines, about leaky public coffers, administrative reforms, and those ministers who have done nothing in their field of competence in recent years. As the old adage goes, better late than never. Costas Karamanlis needs to muster the courage to make the necessary changes, even now, even with just 152 deputies. A solution can always be found. Those ministers who succumbed to the pressure of possible consequences can be replaced by bolder ones, even if they do not have seats in Parliament. If, however, Karamanlis wants to win the support of the people, he must get rid of the dead weight that has been dragging his party down. Examples of arrogance by specific politicians or their relatives are marring the image of the government at a time when the Greek people are being called on to pay for horrendous fiscal mistakes. With clear goals and a little less drag working against him, Karamanlis will be able to maintain his current lead in the polls.
