The Venerable Lady and the Destiny of Submission
In this poor corner of the Balkans, which we euphemistically call the ’cradle of democracy«, we have developed a unique, almost metaphysical ability to turn institutions into seasonal accessories in the government wardrobe. Justice, that venerable lady with the blindfold on her eyes, seems that in Greece of the »executive state« she is no longer blind. She is simply clinically dead - or, even worse, she has taken off the blindfold to wink meaningfully at the tenants of Maximos, while they empty our coffers and our hopes.
The leadership of the judiciary is no longer the third pillar of the constitution. It has become the orthopedic crutch of a power that is floundering in the mire of its own crimes. Our tragedy is not that power is being corrupted - this has been almost a matter of law since the time of Pericles - but the institutional incest. In Greece, Justice is not an «independent authority», but the legal mistress of the executive. They huddle, they meet and, above all, they communicate with their eyes, while we, the naive subjects, wait for «Justice to speak». Phew! Justice does not speak; it merely whispers the wishes of its master.
Chapter One: The Macabre Theatre of Tempi
Look at the theatre of the absurd in Tempi. There, the interrogation closed with a speed that would be the envy of Formula 1 pilots, as long as it did not touch the «sacred totems» of the political leadership. The appellate investigator Bakaimis was quick to whistle the end as soon as he received the «convenient» reports, while the blood of the 57 victims is still asking for an account under the concreted rails.
It's a wonder at the audacity. The State only declares a civil action against the stationmaster! It is a legal schizophrenia, the State is suing its employee to avoid having to sue itself. It is the apotheosis of shifting responsibility. And while the relatives are seething with rage, the government is spending EUR 1.6 million to furnish a room in Gaiopolis. As if the problem of truth in Greece was ventilation and carpets, not the stench of cover-up emanating from ministerial offices. The government spokesman, with that «enlightened teacher» look, wagging his finger at us, saying that protecting justice is the only way to know the truth. He obviously means the truth that doesn't stain their suits.
Chapter Two: Predator and Digital Fascism
But the icing on the cake of decay is the wiretapping. Here the story goes beyond the darkest scenarios of John Le Carre. The prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Konstantinos Tzavellas, decided that «there is no chestnut». Despite the evidence of Israeli agents of the dark cabal Unit 81 and of Unit 8200, despite the fact that the army chief, ministers and prosecutors were being monitored, the case was filed with arguments that would make even a first-year law student blush with shame.
We are told, no more or less, that because Lazopoulos or Fourthiotis was on the Predator list, there is no question of national security! Do you understand the reasoning? If the spy is peeping along with state secrets and the private life of a comedian, then espionage is barred by the statute of limitations due to... graphicness. It's a penny legalism, a institutional lubango. The leadership of the judiciary was chilled by the currents blowing from Maximos and stood still, protecting the back of the government.
The highlight? The same judicial officer who «cleared» the case was the person who signed the secrecy waivers at the NSA during the period in question. That is, the person under scrutiny checks himself and finds he is innocent, pure and unsullied. The institutions have not seen such confidence since Papadopoulos put the country on a plaster cast to «cure» it.
Chapter Three: The Sociology of Apathy
But why is all this happening? Why does the leadership of the judiciary dare to challenge public sentiment with such blatant cover-up bias? The answer is hidden in the «new Greek householder». This strange guy who thinks that democracy is something that others owe him, while he is concerned with which player will leave the next Survivor.
As long as the citizen accepts as normal that the Chief of the General Staff is being monitored by a ghost software and the Justice system says «it's okay», the more power will become disgusted. The intertwining of the judicial leadership with the executive does not only hurt the individuals; it hurts the very concept of social cohesion. If the law does not apply to the powerful, then it is not law, it is capitulation.
The leadership of the judiciary no longer serves the law; it serves the survival of a system that functions as a Hydra. Each head - whether wearing a judicial robe, a ministerial suit, or holding the microphone of a «cut-throat» channel - feeds on the same body, public money and the moral apathy of the mob.
Chapter Four: The Historical Pathogenesis
Let us not be under any illusions. Greece has never been a serious rule of law. It has been a state of «puppets», «day labourers» and «ordered services». From the Lambrakis trial to the wiretapping scandal, the thread is a single one: Justice is being used as the washing machine for the iniquities of the right-wing (and not only) faction.
When the lawyer Zacharias Kesses reveals that there are witnesses ready to testify new evidence and the Supreme Court Prosecutor's Office ostentatiously ignores them, we are not talking about an omission. We are talking about institutional diversion. It is the moment when the state takes off the mask of legitimacy and shows its true face, the face of a ruthless gangster who holds the law in his hands like a club.
Justice as a «Luxury Escort»
In conclusion, let's be honest: Justice in Greece is not awarded; it is distributed as a tip to the regime's loyalists. When the executive and the judicial leadership cohabit in the same bed, the child born will not be called «Justice», but "Justice". «Tyranny in a democratic wrapping».
Justice in Greece is no longer blind. It is an expensive hired escort, which follows its client (the government) in its every misery, making sure to keep its dress clean from the blood of the Tempi and the mud of the wiretaps. What about us? We just watch the bill grow, waiting for a catharsis that will never come from those who benefit from the filth.
History will judge them all. But I fear that in Greece, history is another «companion» written by the victors and the restrained.
And above all, comrades of the «liberal» paracracy. The next scandal is waiting for you around the corner, and Justice is already there, soap and sponge in hand.
