«We're going to shake things up in the legal system»...

Written by Giannis Koronaios

Donald Trump wants to decide even whether a red card given to a U.S. player will stand.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to decide where his country’s maritime borders end. Who will lead the Turkish opposition, and who will go to prison.

Benjamin Netanyahu wants to decide which governments in the broader Middle East region are «acceptable» and which are not. Which leaders will survive and which will not. Where exactly each country’s borders lie. And, of course, how much those Palestinians who insist on living on the land of their ancestors will suffer.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis wants to listen in on everyone—who they’re talking to and exactly what they’re saying—so he knows and (perhaps…) so he can blackmail them! He allows his own people to orchestrate scandals involving extreme profiteering in the market, in the banks, in the urban planning departments, and at OPEKEPE. Then he accuses those who expose these scandals of being «toxic»….

He wants to appoint his own people even if they lack the formal qualifications. He likes to say that there is no alternative other than himself, his family, and his circle of friends. He insists that he governs with the «best and brightest.».

Those authoritarian «elites» we find everywhere… It seems that a peculiar form of «Trumpism» is all the rage, even among «pocket Trumps.» Some of them hold real power (for now), while others are merely the last wheels on the wagon. Some do indeed have a significant voice, knowledge, and prestige; others have «degrees» from Southeastern College (like Makarios Lazaridis). Others from… SouthKytherian College.

One thing they all have in common: They don’t tolerate differing opinions, they want to control everything, and they like to make threats. They act as if they were absolute monarchs. And as for Trump, he’s a world leader—albeit a former one—because of his inability to impose his own will on Iran.

But do our own thugs perhaps believe that the country belongs to their family? And at the local level, have some others «gotten big-headed»? Do they think they can control our lives—from what we say and write to whether we can watch a movie at an outdoor cinema? And do they hide behind bureaucratic pretexts to impose «Western law»? Do they really believe they can silence us?;

The late Elias Eliou (then leader of EDA) had famously said, «We’ll shake up your sense of legitimacy.» Has the time come to put that into practice everywhere in Greece (that is, even in Kythira)?;

-Do we agree that all contracts should be lawful and transparent? Should they be thoroughly reviewed?;

-Do we agree that all direct awards should be reviewed?;

-We agree that «sources of wealth» should be investigated, with particular emphasis on… «sources»?;

-Do we agree that every permit for outdoor seating should be reviewed, rather than just selectively reviewing some of them?;

-Shouldn't those who endanger public health by leaving open cesspools next to the sea be held accountable?;

-Should we look into where wastewater is disposed of in many areas of the island?;

-And are all safety rules being followed at the various events on the island? ;

Those who hide behind either «independent justice» or so-called «bureaucratic delays» to cover for themselves and their friends and to justify their hostility toward those who hold a different opinion, let them consider where an extreme conflict might lead… Let them read a little history: Authoritarian leaders fall with a crash!

Those who «lay down the law» against everyone from behind their keyboards, with the backing of an authoritarian regime, should consider that tomorrow things may change, and then they will have to answer (without that backing…) for their actions and omissions.

Let some people understand that the slide toward authoritarianism leads to uncontrollable situations. Let them understand that this whole issue has now become a matter of defending democracy against authoritarianism.

And, finally, let some people consider that by «liking» and giving hearts to “confrontational” posts, they, too, become complicit …