Somewhere the shipowner is identified Laskaridis with the rapper Mithridates: They have the same perception of the government and the prime minister. One said that «the shipowners they're fucked. the prime minister, for them it is of no use.’ The other spoke of »a government with a badge on the spoon»…
There are other points that have political implications: Shipowners as a whole are trying to convince us that they are patriots. Mr Laskaridis puts it a little differently. We don't care about the Greek flag«. Mithridates comments on the labour bill »Eight-hour work is banalite and any overtime will be unpaid«.
Common there are two completely different worlds that converge on the conclusion of the current administration's apathy or the policy in general. But this is the only point of political convergence. Laskaridis is a supporter of the New Democracy in «many ways»... while Mithridates has criticised all previous governments (including SYRIZA's).
Do these two cases lend themselves to conclusions? Yes. The present government no longer enjoys the tolerance of the majority. Its image is completely worn out, discredited, and the Prime Minister does not enjoy the confidence of even the narrow core of his party's voters.
Is this a harbinger of political developments? Not necessarily. Just because something is devalued does not mean that the opposing pole is automatically strengthened, in this case SYRIZA. What is certain, however, is that now society is accumulating anger, it's frustrated. Especially the youth are «on the rails» and if the pandemic has not been dealt with in the autumn and the economy has not improved significantly, we will certainly see political and social developments. In which direction, it is not clear...
The international experience with RAP, particularly in the US, gives us a better picture, but also raises new questions: What is ultimately happening? Is it a matter of «turning everyone towards the political and social centre», because that is where the majority of citizens are, or of «outright denunciation» against what blackens our lives? With a simple glance at the internet, it is easy to see that the songs of the most famous rappers in the US have a political extension that is as subversive, radical and poignant as it is scathing, since the source of this music is the ghettos of the marginalized blacks in the United States. RAP was named after the English acronym Rhythm And Poetry.
Is RAP's denunciatory discourse a harbinger of youth radicalisation? Not necessarily. Case in point, rapper Kanye West has previously supported President Trump's conservative policies, espousing his views against abortion and in favor of harsh prison sentences. The RAP appeals to younger, apolitical voters, but usually has no proposal, just denounces.
So let the opposition not get excited about Mithridates. The Greek rapper has successfully expressed what most people understand in a successful way: The prevailing disdain for the government and the prime minister personally. That alone is not enough. In the US, Trumpism used the apathy of politics to prevail. What is needed in Greece is not a denunciation of the status quo, but a proposal for a better tomorrow.
By Yannis Koronaiou, journalist
