Cynicism

Countries obviously do not have feelings. They operate with absolute cynicism, in accordance with their capabilities, interests and the global balance of power and, ostensibly, according to the principles governing their political system. One could also say that they usually act on the basis of a certain rationale, in the practical rather than moral sense, aiming to serve their goals.

From the moment it first broke - and especially given the way it did so - we have been warning about the danger of the Novartis affair, with its allegations that the Swiss drugs manufacturer bribed Greek government officials, turning into a witch hunt. And the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government is doing everything in its power to confirm this fear by acting the way it is.

The Greek diaspora has a dual role at this difficult juncture for the country. One is to help infuse people in Greece with the elements they are so sorely lacking and the other is to initiate an international mobilization in order to influence key decision-making centers around the world.

Recent comments by certain politicians who suggested that too much is being made of the continued detention of two Greek soldiers in a Turkish prison because they accidentally strayed across the border into Turkey while on patrol during a storm are completely outrageous.

As it heads toward the end of the eight-year bailout era, Greece again finds itself at risk of political instability.

Diogenes the Cynic, the ancient Greek philosopher, was probably the man who invented “the finger” insult.

The historian of philosophy Diogenes Laertios wrote that the cynical philosopher Diogenes made the gesture to orator Demosthenes in the 4th century BC in Athens.

When asked about Diogenes, Plato described the philosopher as "a Socrates gone mad."

Diogenes was considered mad because he threw people's contradictions, hypocrisy and double standards in their faces…

Or because he strolled around the city squares in daylight with a lamp, saying, "I am just looking for an honest man"…

A local religious conservative foundation staged a protest in the Black Sea province of Sinop on Aug. 22, demanding the removal of a statue of Ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes.

The Erbakan Foundation said it was protesting the fact that the Greek ideology being attached to the province rather than arts.

The leftist-led administration knows, and much from its own firsthand experience, just how much the public sector is in immediate need of evaluation and a reorganization of its services. Despite recognizing this, the government continues to mollycoddle its partisan clients, creating the impression that anything and everything is tolerable, even open guerrilla warfare against evaluations.

On the one hand, we have dozens of public opinion polls pointing to the fact that the government is no longer popular, that it has lost much of its credibility and is lagging significantly behind New Democracy in voter preference, to the extent that many experts believe the situation is irreversible and Greece is facing early elections.