Method, madness and a changing audience

Only Aristophanes and Panos Kammenos could have made up a character like Panos Kammenos, our defense minister and governing partner of Alexis Tsipras. Kammenos's histrionics, his self-righteous pain and rage against countless foes, however, are not symptoms of mental distress caused by endless effort to yoke together the governing duo's disparate forces; on the contrary, throughout the prime minister's political career we can see that his tactics have included a full-frontal attack in every direction, using every means at his disposal, without thought for the consequences.

When the need arises for drastic action, this will depend on conditions and the available means, so that the government may remain in power.

If the end justifies the means, then the most necessary, the most important instrument for Tsipras is Kammenos. Only the far-right nationalist and his...