Editorial To Vima: The wrong road leads downhill

It is wrong to dispute the constitutional order for the sake of some partisan choice, especially right before elections.

It is wrong to use Parliament as a partisan arena a few weeks before a general election.

It is wrong to unleash groundless accusations that divide parties and political leaders into “blackmailers” and “blackmailed”, or the “suspects” and the “unsuspecting”.

It is wrong for politicians to be hobnobbing with suspicious and dubious centres of influence, domestically and abroad, and with the cesspools of the underworld, even as elections are approaching.

This is the wrong road, because it leads to a downhill course.

In dealing with the laxness, mistakes or failures of the government, the wrong road chosen by main opposition SYRIZA is downhill.

In an unhealthy and toxic political environment, one cannot highlight or judge such phenomena, in the manner that is natural in a democracy, as the overall political legitimisation of one’s political opponent is disputed.

This constitutes a blatant negation of democracy, a system of government in which no one needs anyone else’s legitimisation. Everyone competes politically in the framework of legitimisation inherent in democracy.

The wrong road leads to a downhill course, which leads to toxicity, which leads to disputing democracy itself. These are not legitimate or understandable choices in a democratic country.

It is more like an a priori management of defeat when it becomes clear that the post-election period will be accompanied by the heavy burden that the losers will carry. Hence, they don the cloak of democracy so as to depict their loss as a defeat for democracy.

Desperation does not provide a good compass in politics.

Transforming an electoral competition into a fray between the “blackmailers” and “blackmailed”, part-time MPs and candidates totally without a conscience, ridiculous “anti-democrats” and “seasonal democrats” might have been seen as a parody of democracy if it were not mainly a parody of politics.

If the management of defeat is limited to the mourning of the losers, that is not such a bad thing. Some will leave and some others will come, and the country will remain unharmed.

If, however, the wrong road leads to disputing a defeat and, even worse, of the electoral outcome, then the downhill slide will be much more dangerous.