Common sense and angry voters

A demonstrator holds up a placard reads in Greek "Greece eat their children" in front of the Parliament at Syntagma square during a protest for victims of a rail disaster, in central Athens, on Wednesday. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]

In most cases, using common sense is the most appropriate and useful way for evaluating developments. For most people, regardless of ideology, some things are self-evident. Such as that many bear responsibility for last week's train disaster, both current and former governments, that most of the blame falls primarily on the one which is currently in power, and that an administration which has just taken over does not have the same extent of responsibility as one that has ruled for years.

When an event such as the recent tragedy happens, citizens expect a responsible politician to immediately and spontaneously issue an apology, both personal and on behalf of his government, with no ifs or buts. Statements that put blame on others too are perceived as an attempt to shirk responsibility, at the very moment when society demands the opposite: recognition of the problem and a...

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