Abstention: The act of withholding one’s vote
In a country where politics is hot, half the voters decided not to head to the ballots during yesterday's regional and local elections. That’s not only because we can’t stand GAP (CLICK HERE IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE LIAR!), it’s because we can’t stand any of the major candidates, hence, either way, we would lose.
When close to one in two voters abstain, it is not - as party leaders like to interpret – on account of citizens being “mildly dissatisfied” but because there is clearly a restricted sense of democracy and justice. A vote does not always equal democracy when the choices are strained. On the one hand, not-so-socialist GAP who has done his utmost to undermine the Greek economy with wreckless statements and lies to serve his hidden agenda and pump up spreads, all the while winking at stock-market profiteers. And then there is the "liberal" New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras stating he does not support the Memorandum, all the while grinning at the IMF and rubbing his hands with glee.
Yes, sadly democracy is dead in Greece, or at least comatose. We think we have rights and freedom of speech, but all this is just iconic.
So what can be done? For me, there are only two options - both of them radical (of course) - and yes, I am aware painful, but more equitable than Troika's fascist austerity measures striking at the backbone of workers without punishing tax evaders or profiteers. Here are the only solutions I can see: a) A military dictatorship, a few tanks rolling trampling down Panepistimou St and restoring some order to this place would be nice, or b) the people could take the situation into their own hands and actively show their displeasure by tossing out a corrupt system that no longer works. It will be interesting to see what the response will be at the next protest rally! Oh, and c) we can pray for divine intervention, but forgive me if waiting for GAP and his chronies to get their cummupance in the life after doesn't sit too well with me.
That’s it from the front. Promise to come back in my next post being my usual pleasant lame, superficial self. Maybe to talk about shoes or Lady Gaga (I nod in respect to Michael at Archive Five as I say this).
Until of course next week...when we have the second runoff vote.
PS Your responses to my previous post on SCRABBLE made me chuckle. Indeed, biting my opponents is something I have considered...thankfully, with FB scrabble I'm just biting air...
OH AND AS USUAL - A SONG....CLICK HERE....ABOUT ELECTIONS...
3 comments:
I just realized .... since you're an Australian living in Greece - can you vote? Or do you have your Greekian citizenship?
I think giving power back to the people usually works better than military involvement, but I don't speak from experience, rather from ideology. So who knows what could work, eh?
Things in the United States aren't fairing much better. As one wise journalist recently noted after our disastrous mid-term elections, we have become a plutocracy - the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and the system exists just to get the rich even more money.
What are we to do - what is ANY country to do - when all of our politicians are millionaires and funded by large, anonymous donors with thinly veiled agendas of making the poor poorer, under the guise of "Christianity"? What are we to do indeed...
LJ...this time NO...but I am in the process of papers so I am told that definitely by the next elections...I'll be just as much Greek as Australian...(which means I'll have to change the title of the blog)...Plus there is a funny story with my entire citizenship quest...I'll do a post all about that one.
Phoenix - Plutocracy...yes! Describes the situation. Just as much a Greek word as democracy...I, too, prefer (b) to (a) with a little bit of (c) for good measure.
Take care!
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