ND must live up to its name

In a few weeks’ time, it will be in the hands of Parliament to pass a new bill concerning social security reform. This bill is expected to impose extremely painful but absolutely necessary changes in one of the most contentious sectors of Greek economic and social policy. Hopefully in this crucial vote, the main opposition party, New Democracy, will not follow its usual strategy of hiding behind a variety of different excuses in order to cover up its negative stance on the matter. If the conservatives really want to be a political force to be reckoned with and to convince the people that ND is capable of running the country, they need to support the government in finding a solution to the social security problem. Irrespective of what arguments it may have against certain parts of the reform bill, rejecting the entire proposal off the cuff will simply enhance the impression that New Democracy is fast adopting a populist bent and that it is staunchly refusing to behave like the modern, center-right party that it claims to be.