From spring to winter

Just when you thought that you’d seen it all, you come across something totally unexpected. In Greece, the center and the right won the civil war with help from the British and, subsequently, the Americans. Had they been defeated, Greece would have shared the fate of Bulgaria, Albania and, perhaps, Yugoslavia. They won the war, but they then lost the battle over ideological hegemony, particularly in the years after the fall of the military dictatorship. The reaction of the right was influenced by a guilty conscience. In the meantime, the left was able to prevail in terms of culture and mind-set. Sure, the historical responsibility over island exile camps and the unprecedented reliance on US agencies for several decades was huge. However, several decades have passed since then. The camps have been shut down for good. And we are in charge of this land. However, an undeclared war still rages over what happened in the second half of the 1940s. So where’s the surprise? The police have had to protect the most hated symbol in the eyes of the left – the Truman statue – while a leftist-led government is in power, pro-government pundits condemn the effort to bring down the statue as immature and irresponsible, and, finally, officials now deem that Greek-American relations are at their best. It would be premature to say that we have finally grown up as a nation, we understand what is suitable to our true interests and do not give in to the flattering hymns of the sirens. And I say that because I know that spring can swiftly switch back to winter in the event that a serious incident with Turkey fails to generate the reaction that we would expect from the US and the EU.