Bad luck can’t always be held responsible

"It was an unfortunate moment," the stationmaster in the deadly train crash is said to have claimed. How many times has the inadequacy and failure of the broader Greek state mechanism been hidden behind such phrases? Sometimes it is blamed on "bad luck," at others, it is dismissed with "That's Greece."

I still remember the first time I heard an official explaining why the state had been unable to get the November 17 terrorist organization behind bars: "It's a matter of luck," he said and when he was asked to elaborate, answered: "Like when they were all gathered in Sepolia. We didn't encircle them and they got away. It was unfortunate." Bad luck was also blamed for the deaths in Mati in 2018. And for so much more.

The point is that "unfortunate moments" cannot be prevented. They will always happen. They are inevitable. Dealing with them, however, takes professionalism...