Some in New Democracy had invested in the “left interlude”. Namely, that SYRIZA would rise to power, could not hold on and New Democracy would then return vindicated.
SYRIZA is accused of deceiving the voters and promising things that they did not have the ability to implement. Other ND officers accuse SYRIZA of possibly having a hidden agenda and call for a return to reality.
New Democracy’s turn to demagogy is a bit odd whenever SYRIZA proposes a measure that is possibly reasonable and which the Samaras government attempted (and failed) to implement.
The sale of non-prescription medication is a thorny subject for the pharmacists. Whether they are right or wrong is irrelevant, they are entitled to claim their rights. How their union body pursues this goal is up to everyone’s judgment.
In the past, the president of the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association Mr. Lourantos did not hesitate to verbally “attack” New Democracy officers and stated that “11,000 pharmacies will be your grave” and that “they will turn into polling stations”, clearly insinuating that he would support SYRIZA in the elections. (Of course he had and has every right to support any party he wishes).
The recent meeting of Mr. Lourantos with Mr. Voridis and Mr, Karagounis though is interpreted as populist and insults not only the thinking voter, but also the efforts of the Samaras administration. Instead of stating that the government’s proposal is correct, they rush to endorse the belligerent for the sake of gaining a few votes!
They are losing though. Despite SYRIZA’s failure to come to an agreement with our partners, New Democracy seems to be stuck rather low in the polls. Will the flirtation with Mr. Lourantos bring back nay voters? It seems that the Main Opposition party needs a different medicine and not a pharmacist who is looking out for his sector.
Andreas St. Psycharis
