Interviews and press releases

Greek politicians, of all ideological stripes, are spoiled. In fact, we have spoiled them. Especially now that we have a tough election ahead of us, they sometimes forget what work they do and what work we do. "Let's do an interview, but only in writing"; "Use this title as we suggest"; "What kind of questions are these? They are very aggressive. What are you trying to do, destroy me?" These are but some of the comments we hear these days from politicians who are anxious about securing votes. And I repeat: this is from politicians of all levels and affiliations.

You are, of course, unpleasantly surprised when you encounter such behavior from people you don't expect, ministers or opposition officials, from whom you expect a more self-confidence, tolerance and respect for the basic rules of liberal democracy. But you are also positively surprised when you see people in...