Ι first thought it was a hoax or a malicious troll stirring the already tensed relations between the party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Nea Dimocratia, and main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA. But when I heard about it also in the prime time news of nationwide private television channels, I was sure: there is no cure for this country and its people. As if there was no other important problem in this country, one of the ruling parties formally asked whether opposition party leader was an atheist…
In a statement issued on Sunday, Nea Dimocratia asks from SYRIZA to confirm or deny that Alexis Tsipras was an atheist.
Below the ND statement translate by KTG
“I. Amanatidis, responsible for religious affairs at SYRIZA revealed this morning (on Skai TV) that opposition leader Alexis Tsipras was an atheist. That is his right.
But the Greek people need to know in what Tsipras believe, so SYRIZA should immediately confirm or deny what the MP said.
We recall that in its official program SYRIZA foresses the taxation of those who declare Greek Orthodox, as it was recently revealed by T. Kourakis.
We hope that the rivalry of SYRIZa with the Greek Orthodox is not because Tsipras is an atheist.”
“Is Nea Dimocratia nuts to pose such a question?” one may wonder. The answer is “No”. Conservative Nea Dimocratia must be in a kind of panic seeing its decreasing rates in recent public opinion polls. SYRIZA leads the polls in not with ban breaking percentage, followed by ND and Golden Dawn, and thus despite the fact that six GD MPs are in custody, including the party leader.
Nea Dimocratia not only wants to win back the conservative right-wing voters who are frustrated by the strict austerity and over taxation and would vote for Golden Dawn even if the justice proves it is a criminal organization. It’s a “vote of punishment” for all the unfair austerity measures that have pushed millions to poverty.
But most of all, Nea Dimocratia wants to demonize its main rival in the next elections, that is SYRIZA. With all relevant and irrelevant means. So to say, in the good old mentality of the 1950’s, ’60’s and ’70’s. When people were either “patriots and good Christians” or “communists and atheists.”
What do you expect in a country where religious satire gets a prison sentence?
PS you don’t want to know how the Greek internet and photoshop reacted to the ND question, do you?
Oh dear me – it used to be ‘Are you a card carrying member of the Communist Party’- such ludicrous and irrelevant questions are made for one reason only to DEFLECT public opinion away from the many valid questions leveled at this puppet government.
Fearing criticisms and opposition for the many crippling measures currently being imposed on Greek people at the behest of the Troika – no matter the illegality – or their complete and total abdication of democratic representation – is this the very best they can hurl at the only opposition party worthy of consideration ?