When tragedy is seen through an ideological prism

The first public opinion poll to come out after the summer break provides worrying evidence of indifference and fatigue in a sizable part of Greek society.

On questions regarding the deadly east Attica wildfires in July, 72 percent of those surveyed said they saw the government's management of the incident as "probably or certainly negative" while 17 percent viewed it as "probably or certainly positive."

Among supporters of the opposition New Democracy party, negative replies comprised the vast majority, with 90 percent of ND-supporting respondents saying that they took a dim view of the leftist-led government's response to the disaster. Among respondents who are SYRIZA supporters, however, a negative view was expressed by just 56 percent, while 37 percent saw the government's response as "probably or certainly positive."

When questioned who they would vote for if...