The affair concerning the surveillance of a politician by the National Intelligence Service is an exceptionally serious issue, not only because it aggravates the already existing tensions between the government and the opposition, but because it threatens to rock citizens’ trust in democratic institutions.

This situation, with mutual recriminations between the two top parties about ruling as an arbitrary regime that sees internal enemies, harms above all the Greek political system, and indeed at a time that extremes are on the rise in Europe, from Sweden to Italy.

The need for the whole truth of the surveillance affair to come to light as soon as possible is now urgent.

Shadows create suspicion, while whispers and petty partisan handling of the issue simply contribute to the toxic climate that is being cultivated.

If elections were to be held sooner, the harm may perhaps have been tempered.

However, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has repeatedly made it perfectly clear that the general elections will be held at the end of his four-year term.

Yet, spring of 2023 politically is a long way off, and as each day passes the political environment becomes heavier.

No one, as seasoned as one may be from the tortuous national adventures of the last decade, has the endurance to go through eight months of skirmishes over spying malware, wiretapping, and cases of surveillance, whatever government may have been involved.

This stands true for our entire society, which sees the affair unfolding even as it prepares for a difficult winter with great economic challenges and an energy crisis.

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