The new oligarchs

Greece is at serious risk of becoming a lot like Ukraine in terms of seeing its media and public affairs slipping into the hands of a small group of new oligarchs who will make the maligned old guard seem like nice guys.

This is not a far-fetched scenario, nor is it light years away. There's a very good chance that the current generation of wheeler-dealers, facilitators and mediators - basically pimps, to put it simply - will soon be replaced by a whole batch of new ones, a new generation that is more vital and much more aggressive in the way that it does business.

In its response to this growing threat, the government appears to be making the same mistake as others before it, believing that it can actually work with such people and reach a mutual understanding.

But this is how pimps always do business: They pledge and give you their support, they...