Sudden love affairs rarely lead to marriage. In politics however things are much more dramatic. Konstantinos Karamanlis used to say that “in politics, treason in merely a matter of time”.
Before the rooster crows, the political romance of the time was interrupted in the early hours, last Thursday. The desert was made out of paper… The leaders of France and Germany along with the president of the European Commission offered the Prime Minister of Greece a bunch of papers. As soon as Mr. Tsipras had a look, he realized that he was only a few meters from a cliff.
It is unknown whether the usual “goodnights” preceded his departure, in any case though, the Prime Minister returned to Athens and he decided to speak in Parliament about the national debt problem. Everything said in Parliament on Friday evening has already been widely publicized. After all, an experienced observer of our political affairs could have predicted it in full.
What was unpredictable was the invitation which the Prime Minister extended to the Opposition to side with him in the negotiations that are to continue.
Mr. Samaras’ response, the meaning discussion, despite the occasional verbal tension, with Mr. Tsipras, indicates that a national understanding must not be considered an unreachable goal.
Stavros P. Psycharis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
