There are moments oregon circumstances successful which a operation – adjacent a elemental one-liner from a governmental person – manages to seizure the connection of an full era, to picture the pulse of society, to condense the beliefs, desires, and needs of a nation. And we’re not speaking lone of monumental phrases, specified arsenic Winston Churchill’s vigor code — “We shall combat everywhere, connected the beaches, the fields, the streets, the hills… we shall ne'er surrender” — which forged the patriotic and combative tone of the British radical up of the Battle of Britain successful the summertime of 1940.
But besides of much “earthly” ones, specified arsenic those that person marked the 51 years of Greece’s post-junta governmental scene. From Konstantinos Karamanlis’s “We beryllium to the West,” which ended the fierce questioning of Greece’s geopolitical predisposition successful the aboriginal years aft the dictatorship, to Andreas Papandreou’s “Sink the Hora,” laden with behind-the-scenes intrigue. To Georgios Rallis’s pioneering-for-its-time “I don’t privation immoderate no’s,” and Andreas Papandreou’s “Tsochatzopoulos, springiness it all,” the emblem of a populist authorities of uncontrolled handouts. And the much caller “There is money” by George Papandreou, which misled Greek nine portion the system had already tally aground.
“We ate them together”
So excessively with Theodoros Pangalos’s “We ate them together,” a arguable observation, interpreted by immoderate arsenic a information — full oregon partial — that Greek politicians, and by hold the Greek people, had ne'er had the courageousness to admit, but by astir arsenic yet different effort by a floundering governmental strategy to dodge work and displacement blasted onto the full citizenry.
It was September 21, 2010. Five months aft the Kastellorizo announcement, arsenic nine seethed implicit the responsibilities of politicians successful general, and of the PASOK authorities successful particular, struggling to look the tempest of austerity measures accompanying the archetypal bailout memorandum. During a statement successful Parliament’s Public Administration Committee connected a measure abolishing and merging nationalist services, organizations, and bodies — a halfway request of the lenders — the then–Deputy Prime Minister successful George Papandreou’s authorities uttered the landmark phrase:
“The reply to the outcry against the country’s governmental people — ‘how did you devour each the money?,’ arsenic radical inquire america — is this: ‘We appointed you. We ate it each together. Within the model of a narration of governmental patronage, corruption, bribery, and the debasement of authorities itself.’”
The assertion of shared work sparked a question of reactions crossed the governmental spectrum, successful the media, and of people among citizens. Pangalos was accused of hypocrisy, of attempting to absolve politicians of their long-standing mismanagement of nationalist money, and of unfairly shifting the blasted onto the people. Yet determination were besides those who credited him with boldness, for exposing another, not-so-innocent facet of the causes down the terrible economical and societal situation that had struck the country.
He stuck by his words and aboriginal adjacent turned them into a book. In his 2012 e-book We Ate Them Together, helium further developed his reasoning:
“The operation ‘we ate them each together’ means that a ample portion of america — the Greek radical — participated, 1 mode oregon another, successful irrational practices and behaviors implicit time, regarding authorities expenditures and revenues. What we telephone a ‘fiscal crisis’ is besides our ain creation… Citizens, either done their actions, done their guilt-ridden inaction, oregon simply by electing unsuitable politicians to negociate nationalist affairs, enactment collectively successful ideology and carnivore work for their choices.”
He went connected to impeach the Left of ne'er opposing hirings, wage increases, payment schemes, strikes, etc., but alternatively of ever demanding further handouts. He besides invited citizens to lend idiosyncratic testimonies of akin situations to complement his book.
He paid dearly
He paid precise dearly for that phrase. He became the people of the opposition, portion extremist activistic reactions from definite national groups — adjacent with the information of parliamentary parties — focused connected him personally. He was attacked adjacent during backstage outings, his beingness became… unbearable. Eventually, helium was forced to retreat from the governmental stage. In the drawback elections of 2012, helium was not a candidate. The afloat truth, however, is that from September 21, 2010, the contented of acknowledging society’s and citizens’ stock of work successful the actions and failures of immoderate authorities was nary longer a taboo.
A parenthesis: 1 of the countless crisp remarks successful Pangalos’s tumultuous, decades-long governmental vocation astir caused a diplomatic incidental betwixt Greece and Germany. On the mode to the Corfu EU Summit successful June 1994, successful an speech during a nationalist forum, helium stated that “Germany is an economical giant, but a governmental dwarf.” He aboriginal claimed it was a distortion by journalists of a remark successful which helium compared German argumentation successful the Balkans, and particularly successful Croatia, to Rabelais’s Gargantua — a precise almighty elephantine with the caput of a tiny child.
His explanations did not person Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who publically demanded an apology from the authorities of Andreas Papandreou, past besides presiding implicit the European Council. Naturally, Pangalos withdrew the remark and apologized. But years later, during the bailout ordeal, galore Greeks felt helium had been perfectly close astir Germany backmost then.
George Papandreou
The bailout years, arsenic good arsenic the play instantly preceding them, were affluent successful phrases by starring politicians that near their people — though usually not for bully reasons.
Ten days earlier the European elections of June 7, 2009, the then-rising PASOK person George Papandreou, successful a property league astatine Zappeion, presented the nationalist with the cardinal dilemma some of that predetermination and of the drawback nationalist elections that followed 4 months later, connected October 4: “We either alteration oregon we sink.”
The dilemma, however, was not vindicated by events. Voters listened to George Papandreou, did alteration the governmental landscape, and made him premier curate — but Greece sank. Since then, the operation has been entrenched successful Greek governmental vocabulary whenever a person wants to underscore the value of a critical, binary choice.
Of course, it besides took 1 much monumental operation of his to sabotage his ain aboriginal prospects and astatine the aforesaid clip fling the state wide unfastened to the way of the bailout memoranda: the celebrated “There is money.” He declared it from the podium of the Thessaloniki International Fair during the predetermination campaign, and it became the perfect limb for his governmental opponents successful his aboriginal implicit discrediting.
He insists to this time that what helium meant was: “There is money, if we tackle taxation evasion, deficiency of transparency, cronyism, closed professions, waste, and bureaucracy that obstruct steadfast concern and initiative.” He wonders if anyone could genuinely disagree, blaming opportunists for twisting his words. In immoderate case, helium irreparably damaged his ain governmental capital.
And Alexis Tsipras
This was thing Alexis Tsipras himself did not avoid, up of the January 2015 elections, with the momentum of being the favourite for the premiership. On May 2, 2014, nether the Samaras–Venizelos authorities and during Angela Merkel’s sojourn to Athens, the then–leader of the opposition, carried distant by anti-bailout fervor, proclaimed astatine a SYRIZA rally successful Mytilene the “glorious”:
“Go back, Mrs. Merkel, spell back, Mr. Schäuble.”
And the accompanying:
“Go back, ladies and gentlemen of Europe’s blimpish nomenclature. Greece is not a guinea pig. Go backmost on with your troika, your usurers, your harshness, your arrogance, your contempt for the Greek people, who person go the entity of your mockery and exploitation.”
Since then, overmuch h2o has flowed nether the bridge. History retained indelibly the archetypal 8 words. Tsipras, aft a achy hold arsenic it turned out, ended up arsenic premier curate surrendering to the European partners — astatine the terms of a 3rd bailout, highly harsh for the Greek radical and, according to many, unnecessary. He evolved into the 1 who, with singular effectiveness, implemented the precise policies foreseen successful it, the aforesaid policies helium had antecedently rejected. A fewer years later, helium would adjacent invited Merkel to Athens with joyousness and gratitude.
These “revolutionary outbursts” successful Mytilene, and those that followed connected December 12, 2014, astatine SYRIZA’s Regional Conference successful Heraklion, Crete — with aboriginal elections already appearing inevitable — were what earnestly damaged his credibility successful matching words with deeds. He warned Europeans and markets then:
“Some deliberation that the markets volition beryllium beating the drum and we volition creation to their tune. Well, from present on, we volition play the drum, oregon alternatively the Cretan lyra, and they volition creation the pentozali.”
Things, however, did not crook retired that way, and roles were reversed on the way. Later, helium admitted that helium had illusions — some astir negotiating with the Europeans during his archetypal six months successful powerfulness and astir the stance of the markets, which punished Greece severely.
4+1 Phrases of Konstantinos Karamanlis
Konstantinos Karamanlis and Andreas Papandreou were towering figures successful Greek governmental past of the 2nd fractional of the 20th century. Some of their statements not lone went down successful past but stay applicable adjacent today, often recalled successful nationalist governmental debate.
Karamanlis had a profoundly developed consciousness of work toward the state and its people. He preferred to act, to proceed with prudence, and not to speech excessively. The governmental benignant that champion suited him was described by nary different than himself successful February 1975 earlier Parliament:
“In politics, determination are things that hap without being said, conscionable arsenic determination are things that are said without ever happening.”
On August 23 of the aforesaid year, the Five-Member Court of Appeals of Athens sentenced to decease the trio of leaders of the April coup (Papadopoulos, Pattakos, Makarezos). The pursuing day, the Council of Ministers commuted their condemnation to beingness imprisonment. On the 29th of the month, addressing dozens of officers aft the “Ptolemaios” exercise, Karamanlis uttered the unforgettable phrase: “When we talk of beingness sentences, we mean beingness sentences.” Thus closing the substance erstwhile and for all. In October 1975, helium stated successful Parliament that helium had earlier (June 12) submitted the petition for Greece’s afloat accession to what was past the EEC, responding to the information that the government, “interpreting the sentiment of the immense bulk of the Greek people, declared from the precise opening that our state belongs to the West and specifically to Western Europe.” The operation “we beryllium to the West” became the hallmark of his confrontation with Andreas Papandreou implicit the country’s geopolitical and economical orientation, until the PASOK person yet backed down.
Much later, regarding the unprecedented governmental turmoil astatine the opening of 1989, present retired from politics, helium delivered a terse operation that besides remained successful history: “The unprecedented events taking spot lately successful our state make the content that Greece has turned into a immense madhouse.”
Karamanlis had fixed akin examples earlier. Three days aft the nighttime of May 22, 1963, and the fatal wounded of EDA MP Grigoris Lambrakis successful Thessaloniki by paramilitaries successful the beingness of dozens of gendarmes arsenic passive observers—and portion the Balkan champion was kept live by mechanical means—he demanded explanations from the past caput of the Intelligence Service, Alexandros Natsinas: “Many things person happened lately without my knowledge… I privation to know, Mr. Natsinas, who governs this country, aft all?” The connection was sent successful each directions.
The “Hora,” the handouts, and the melodramatic prophecy
On August 6, 1976, the Ecevit authorities violated Greek territorial waters northeast of Lesbos with the oceanographic vas Hora, challenging Greek sovereignty nether the pretext of research. The 2 countries came to the brink of war. The memories of the Turkish penetration of Cyprus were inactive fresh.
The Karamanlis authorities decided to entreaty to the UN Security Council and, astatine the aforesaid time, to marque a unilateral exertion to the International Court of Justice successful The Hague, adjacent though it would person nary binding unit since it required a associated submission with Turkey. At the aforesaid time, Andreas Papandreou, past person of PASOK, successful the relation of insignificant yet fierce opposition, made the historical connection urging the government: “Sink the Hora.” Of course, had that happened, subject confrontation would person been certain—with chartless consequences.
Later, successful a parliamentary league connected May 23, 1980, Papandreou, present person of the main opposition, claimed that helium had been successful connection with Karamanlis and that the operation was spoken for reasons of precocious nationalist interest: to fortify the planetary bargaining presumption of the premier curate and the country.
He said, “I americium unluckily bound and not successful a presumption to speak, due to the fact that I respect communal decisions connected captious issues,” drafting thunderous applause from PASOK MPs. Former premier curate Panagiotis Kanellopoulos intervened successful the debate, confirming Papandreou. However, Karamanlis’s long-time adjacent associate, Petros Molyviatis, overmuch aboriginal successful 2002, refuted this claim, saying that determination had been nary anterior coordination betwixt the 2 men. Karamanlis himself ne'er confirmed, nor denied, anything.
Regardless, the “Sink the Hora” connection yet took connected mythical proportions successful the corporate consciousness of Greeks and, astir fractional a period later, for the nostalgics of the PASOK founder, it remains synonymous with resoluteness and decisiveness. For others, it was simply an adventurist but unsafe remark. For the record, his nonstop connection was: “Since our borders are being violated, wherefore didn’t the authorities springiness an contiguous Greek effect to the Turkish provocation? Why didn’t it descend the Hora?” It was not, successful fact, strictly exhortative.
Much later, connected April 20, 1989, during a stormy pre-election play centered connected the Koskotas ungraded and the Papandreou–Liani affair, the past premier curate uttered astatine a PASOK rally successful Peristeri yet different operation that would origin a stir: “Tsocholas, springiness it all.” At the time, it was regarded arsenic the slogan for expanded handouts aft the extremity of the two-year austerity play nether Simitis’s ministry (November 1987), with Dimitris Tsocholas arsenic concern minister.
Tsocholas himself, however, gave a wholly antithetic mentation of the phrase. He argued that it had thing to bash with benefits, since helium had reduced authorities spending by 4 percent points successful the archetypal fractional of 1989, but that it acrophobic the conflict to vindicate the enactment successful the Koskotas scandal, wherever helium had spearheaded efforts to dismantle the conspiracy. In the corporate consciousness, however, the operation was imprinted with the archetypal interpretation.
A third, little publicized but profoundly prophetic operation of Papandreou’s was included successful his code to his Cabinet connected December 2, 1993. Painting the country’s finances successful acheronian colors, having assumed governance conscionable 2 months earlier, helium concluded with a nightmarish remark: “Either the federation volition eradicate the debt, oregon the indebtedness volition eradicate the nation.” It astir came existent successful a melodramatic mode 16–17 years later. Many, however, impeach him that his archetypal eight-year medication was what opened Pandora’s container for the detonation of the debt.
Christos Sartzetakis
Although Konstantinos Karamanlis, Kostis Stephanopoulos, and Karolos Papoulias were peculiarly fashionable arsenic Presidents of the Republic, past has recorded a operation by Christos Sartzetakis: “We Greeks are a brotherless nation.” He voiced it astatine Easter successful 1985, conscionable a fewer days aft his turbulent election, erstwhile helium visited a subject campy successful Megalo Pefko to widen greetings to the personnel. He added: “There are nary related nations to us, successful opposition to different peoples, who are not unsocial but person kindred nations, specified arsenic the Slavic peoples, Arabs, Anglo-Saxons, Latins, etc.” He wanted to accent that Greeks, having nary kindred nations, indispensable trust connected their ain strengths.
It was the caller President’s archetypal unscripted statement. Faithful to this conviction, Christos Sartzetakis—formerly besides the investigating magistrate successful the Lambrakis case—sent successful February 1994 a 7,234-word missive successful impeccable katharevousa and polytonic publication to the editorial committee of the mag Ellopia to enactment his view. Few whitethorn person work it. What is definite is that the 3 words “we are a brotherless nation” remained profoundly engraved successful the minds of, perhaps, each Greeks.
The “Bairaktaris”
Seven months minus 1 time into his tenure astatine the Maximos Mansion arsenic premier minister, connected October 6, 2004, Kostas Karamanlis decided to unfastened a beforehand against vested interests during a repast with New Democracy MPs astatine the celebrated Bairaktaris taverna successful Monastiraki: “It is not imaginable for 5 pimps and 5 guilds to predominate the governmental beingness of the country. The state tin lone beryllium governed if definite rules are enactment successful place,” helium is said to person told them amid nutrient and drink.
Later, the then-government spokesman, Theodoros Roussopoulos, denied that the premier curate had utilized the connection “pimps,” portion circles adjacent to Maximos insisted that the essence of the connection was accurate. That is, Karamanlis wanted to nonstop the connection that helium would not tolerate vested interests, which, according to him, obstructed the government’s work, and that helium was determined to face them—as good arsenic the guilds. At that time, the authorities had raised the contented of the “main shareholder” instrumentality regarding tv channels, provoking aggravated reactions from media owners.
A Different Ethos
Another “blue” erstwhile premier minister, Georgios Rallis, amazed everyone during his predetermination run successful 1981. With Papandreou’s PASOK connected the verge of a triumphant victory, helium asked the assemblage astatine his code successful Heraklion, Crete, to halt booing each clip helium mentioned the main opposition: “I don’t privation boos,” was his emphatic demand, which helium had to repetition respective times, arsenic the assemblage initially froze and did not comply. Eventually, however, they broke into applause, embracing his high-minded and unprecedented for the epoch show of governmental civility. The aforesaid country was repeated astatine his last run rally connected October 16 successful Athens.
The Simplest Statement
Melina Mercouri was 1 of the precise fewer PASOK officials who, adjacent during Andreas Papandreou’s heyday, could freely explicit her sentiment to him without constraints oregon reservations. She had earned that privilege. Thus, erstwhile successful the PASOK of successive electoral defeats to Mitsotakis’s New Democracy successful 1989–1990, enactment members sought the causes successful alleged underground deals betwixt publishers, concern interests, and interior conspirators against Papandreou, Melina chose a precise elemental mode to explicit her presumption astatine the Central Committee gathering successful Anavyssos, wherever PASOK showed its archetypal signs of division: “President, we conscionable don’t entreaty anymore!” So simple. A operation that, successful extent and value, possibly surpassed each the pompous analyses and theories of the party’s “bigwigs” astatine the time. And ever since, galore politicians and authorities officials often callback it to amusement that the radical nary longer spot their leadership.
Evangelos Averoff
“Any sheep that leaves the fold is eaten by the wolf,” said Evangelos Averoff successful September 1985, erstwhile Kostis Stephanopoulos near New Democracy on with 9 different MPs to recovered the Democratic Renewal (DIANA) party. His operation became proverbial, spreading and being wide utilized successful the pursuing years successful nationalist governmental sermon to picture the bleak governmental prospects of anyone seeking a way extracurricular a cardinal governmental formation. It was confirmed successful countless cases.
Since then, it is ever brought up successful each enactment divided by those who remain, arsenic a informing to those who depart. Averoff, however, had simply revived an earlier operation of his, which helium had utilized connected March 1, 1958, erstwhile Georgios Rallis, Minister of Public Works and Transport, and Panagis Papaligouras, Minister of Commerce and Industry, resigned from Karamanlis’s authorities and became autarkic of ERE. He warned them past and was vindicated. Together with Stephanos Stephanopoulos, they founded the Union of Popular Parties. In the May 1958 elections, they received lone 2.95% of the vote, electing 4 MPs, portion ERE, with 41.16% and 171 MPs, had an outright majority. Rallis and Papaligouras aboriginal returned to ERE, were re-elected successful the 1961 elections, and went connected to go ministers again.
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