The mudslinging war that which is spreading daily, for which the government is mainly responsible, does not merely poison the political environment.
It maintains and reproduces a climate of anti-politics, which has been lurking for some time in Greek society.
The constant targeting of political opponents, and the repetitive scandal-mongering articles – aided by the yellow press and the social media – only breed social biases and a pervasive suspicion of politics and politicians, in a large segment of public opinion.
The instigators and purveyors of this scandal-mongering may believe that they can thus transcend the disaffection of citizens, and shirk their responsibilities regarding the state of the country.
What they do not understand is that the only thing that they are achieving is the fueling of the currents of anti-politics and populism, which burgeoned during the years of the crisis.
They will awaken one day and wonder why the extreme-right is making its presence felt, and why various ridiculous aspiring saviours survive and gain ground. We forgot Golden Dawn and the various saviours and other upstarts, who peddle false hopes to citizens that are in despair.
They do not see that in almost all of Europe, populists and the extreme-right are rising up and pursuing a share of power, undermining in practice the democratic achievements of decades.
From Germany to Italy, and from central Europe to the Scandinavian countries, the impact of the extreme-right, ant-European populists is continually rising.
A country like Greece, which with thousands of problems is struggling to exit the maelstrom of the crisis, does not have the luxury of a long pre-electoral period of division, fanaticism, and scandal-mongering.
It is irrational, and politically and socially suicidal, to find ourselves again in the swirl of a crisis, with the government and the opposition trapped in a relentless clash that undermines the future of the country.
Let everyone – and first of all the government – realise that this perpetual scandal-mongering is undermining the parties themselves, and is leading the country to a new impasse.
