First they said they did their job in an excellent manner and that if they faced the same threat again, they would have reacted in the same manner. Then they played the tried and tested game of blaming their predecessors. When a television channel reported on the impending sackings of the chiefs of the Fire Service and Greek Police, it was accused of “undermining” and of a “provocation”.
They hoped they could plod on this way until the cabinet reshuffle, unleashing charges, and blaming illegal houses and the dead. They would provoke with references to their accomplishments that are “made murky” by the burnt and drowned citizens, along with half-hearted apologies, and with vulgar attacks against the press, including this newspaper. They also tried to change the agenda by transporting N17 terrorist Dimitris Koufodinas from one prison to another.
The general outcry did not allow them to do this. The first who left was the Citizens’ Protection Minister, who did not protect the citizens. The chiefs of Greek Police and the Fire service were replaced because they did not rise to the occasion.
However, the person mainly responsible for the fateful mayhem – the prime minister – remains in office. He believes that by replacing certain people, he can make a new start.
He has the delusion that narratives about “renewal” and “socialdemocratisation” can still persuade people.
They cannot. Much blood has been spilt. There are blatant lies. There is insufferable hypocrisy.
SYRIZA has quick reflexes regarding Maduros, yet it has proved incapable of displaying the same sensitivity to the fire-stricken.
The end is in front of him. He just cannot see it.
