It's almost impossible to make these things up: Yesterday I published my piece on how ad hominem attacks dominate modern Greek politics to an extent not found in most western democracies. Indeed I specifically noted that in many western countries such behaviour is frowned upon, seriously frowned upon. Not in the Greece of today, though, I stressed...
So what happens today? The smiling Mr. Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece and head of a supposed left-wing government, hot on the campaign trail in Crete and accompanied by (or, perhaps, supporting in his local area) the notoriously badly behaved Mr. Polakis (a deputy health minister who smokes wherever he feels like, including where it is forbidden by law!) came up with an amazing description for the leader of the opposition who, according to current polls, may well be the next Prime Minister of Greece.
Mr. Tsipras used a local Cretan term for a kind of billy goat found on the mountains of the island to describe Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, MP and leader of the New Democracy party as a 'prancing billy goat'. He was trying to describe his opponent using what he saw as a demeaning term in order to illustrate his perceived superiority; this came about because Mitsotakis decided not to take part in a televised debate with him.
He is, alas, not alone in this approach, but he is the Prime Minister, a position that is meant to be about authority and dignity, not playground antics. At this level, even ridiculing someone should be clever, insightful, a bit more sophisticated and not like trading insults with the school bully. This makes me incredibly sad for the country of my birth - I just wish it were not so!
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