Editorial: Raising the bar

13:00 24/12/2018 - Πηγή: Τα Νεα

From the time the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government rode the wave of populism to gain power until now that the end of its term is drawing near, it has not ceased to cultivate great expectations in the citizenry.

It did the same with the court-ordered disbursal of back pay

to certain groups of civil servants – it raised the bar and citizens’ hopes were once again dashed.

The reason behind this tactic is obvious. The government is desperately trying to create an artificial climate of euphoria in the hope that it will reap electoral gains.

It is so fixated with this objective that it ignores the fact that feeding such false expectations will boomerang.
The belying of those expectations fuels disappointment and gives people the sense that they are being mocked by the government.

After the shock of the third bailout memorandum, which the government itself brought on and signed, the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks coalition is rushing to make citizens believe that the country is returning to normalcy and that due to its goodness it is handing out money and hiring pledges right and left.

This choice is politically ineffective and economically it can easily prove disastrous.

The more handouts the government announces the more the main opposition party’s lead in the polls is grows.

The more the bar of expectations is raised, the likelier it is that the country will backpedal to a point of no return.