Karamanlis the Cleaner

Αφιερωμένο στον "σεμνότατο και ταπεινότατο" και πλέον τραγικά αποτυχημένο.  Ούτε οι κακόβουλοι δεν νομίζω πως περίμεναν τέτοια ανικανότητα από τον Κωστάκη. Είναι χαρακτηριστικό τι έγραφε το Time τον Οκτώβριο του 2006: (σε παρένθεση τα σχόλια μου)

Why Greece's Karamanlis Faces The Toughest Clean Up

Is corruption intractable in Greece? Two-and-a-half years ago, Greece's center-right New Democracy party rose to power, ousting long-serving socialists on a single policy pledge: to clean up the country's crooked public sector and root out rousfeti, a system of patronage that permeates every facet of Greek society. But half way into Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis' term, not only has that cleanup not happened, but the reformers are now fielding accusations of corruption of their own. 

(αυτά είναι πριν το Βατοπέδι...)

Last month, Panayiotis Adamopoulos, director of Greece's competition watchdog, was arrested and jailed pending trial on charges of blackmail and extortion. He is accused of soliciting a €2.5 million bribe from a leading dairy manufacturer to settle a €25 million fine imposed on the company for price-fixing. Two other state officials, allegedly acting as middle-men, were also implicated in the scandal. In response, Karamanlis toughened anti-graft laws and reiterated his government's zero tolerance stand on corruption. 

(Δύο χρόνια "μηδενικής αντοχής" του ΚΚ μας έδωσαν το Βατοπέδι και την κυβέρνηση με τις περισσότερες συζύγους μελών της που ασχολούνται με Real estate)

That may not be enough. Transparency International, the global anti-corruption watchdog, ranks Greece in 47th place in its 2005 world corruption perceptions index, the worst score within the 12-nation eurozone. "Corruption," says George Kirtsos, an Athens-based publisher and political analyst, "is so imbued in Greek society that it's impossible to cure unless the political leadership drastically reduces the size of the state and limits state intervention in scores of agencies." Until then, says Kirtsos, "any talk of fighting corruption is mere political hot talk." 

(Αυτά να τα ακούν και οι ΓΑΠ & Co που ονειρεύονται...  Χωρίς μεταρυθμίσεις, με τον ίδιο κομματικό "στρατό", θα γίνουν πάλι τα ίδια)

Most Greeks agree. Opinion polls conducted in the wake of the September dairy scandal showed as much as 65.6% of Greeks unsatisfied by the government's bid to root-out corruption. Karamanlis' popularity also took a dip, of six-points, to 56.8%. But with nationwide municipal elections set for Oct. 15, opposition socialists have failed to make substantial political gains. Despite the recent scandal, a poll published in the Sunday edition of To Vima newspaper showed that 33.7% of Greeks said they still rely on Karamanlis' centre-right government to clean up the public sector's endemic corruption after nearly two decades of socialist rule. 

(Σε δύο χρόνια οι δημοσκοπίσεις δείχνουν ότι η υπομονή του Ελληνικού λαού έχει στερέψει.  Προηγείτε ο ΚΚ για καταλληλότερος αρά μόνο γιατί απέναντι του είναι ο ΓΑΠ)

Corruption, though, is just the start of Karamanlis' problems. The economy, under close supervision by the European Commission for Greece's breach of eurozone stability pact rules, has the 42-year-old prime minister in a bind, leaving him little room for maneuver on fiscal policy. Politicians and pundits will use the Oct. 15 election's results as measure of whether Karamanlis and his party has the staying power. 

(τώρα να δεις γλέντια με την παγκόσμια κρίση...)

A mid-term confidence boost by the electorate, say his aides, will help him face up to other challenges, such as boosting tax revenues, creating more jobs and opening up markets. If not, then Karamanlis' leadership, let alone his fight against corruption, may quickly come into question.

Πες αλεύρι, η Ντόρα σε γυρεύει...  (ίσως όμως και ο Αβραμό)