The eldest among us first met Giorgos Karatzaferis in the mid 1980s. He was supposedly combating the state television monopoly and had joined a so-called anti-propaganda machine against PASOK.
He wandered through the streets with a camera and would make his own news bulletins, the tapes of which he would later “sell”. His efforts looked funny, but he gave the impression of fighting for free information.
That is how he established a first base for the television channel that followed when the television station market “opened” up.
He was always blunt, deeply populist and consistently aggressive in his words.
Over time he created a school of far-right and nationalist discourse, which was infused with neoliberal and neodemocratic ideology and created an amalgamation that continues to influence a huge section of the center-right.
From his first forays in Parliament he was quick to denounce, criticize and judge, thus influencing many populists.
Later, when Christodoulos was elected Archbishop he dressed up like a good Christian, spearheaded that moralistic, religious and nationalistic turn of Greek society, with its congregations, banners and protests over ID cards during Simitis’ years.
That is more or less how after the elections in 2000 he established LAOS as the purveyor of nationalist and religious populism.
When ran in the joint prefecture elections in 2002 he measured his forces and capabilities. At some point Golden Dawn became involve in the game. Various stars of the neo-Nazi group found their way on his ballots.
After receiving 14% of the vote he turned into a preacher of moralism, nationalism, sensationalism and – of course – a defender of the status quo. Who can remember how in the summer of 2002 he wandered from television station to television station indicating possible terrorist hideouts?
Now it turns out that he faithful served the “country, religion, family and kickback” doctrine.
In the day he would don a large cross, swear his allegiance to the country, the church and the nation and at night only God knows what he was up to.
The Karatzaferis case is indicative of the fading credibility of the political system.
The prosecutors are now finding out that this grand moralist was fooling society in the worst possible way.
When he was supposed to be preaching the truth, he was dipping into the honey jar.
And after the revelations, not a single word, complete silence!
He is trying to murmur, but he is really just trying to buy time.
Mr. Karatzaferis owes the Greek people some explanations.
The longer he avoids doing so, the greater the people’s ridicule and contempt.
Antonis Karakousis
