The celebrities and the knowledgeable
I read some of the names on the list of European lawmakers who represented Greece in the period 1984-89: Evangelos Averoff, Paraskevas Avgerinos, Ioannis Boutos, Efthymios Christodoulou, Dimitrios Evrygenis, Marietta Giannakou, Manolis Glezos, Leonidas Kyrkos, Panagiotis Lambrias, Georgios Mavros, Spyros Plaskovitis, Giorgos Romaios, Giorgos Anastasopoulos, Ioannis Tzounis. Of course, they were all candidates in a single list system, which makes sense, because I can’t imagine some of these accomplished Greeks being able to go through the process of campaigning for the vote.
On the other hand, they were people who could stand very comfortably in Europe and support Greek interests using European arguments, not arguments for domestic audiences.
I am not particularly nostalgic for the Greek political system’s past and I am well aware of how the patina of time can deceive the unsuspecting observer. People who today seem like “giants” of politics may have been little men in their time who were spared closer scrutiny due to the lack of the pseudo-intimacy possible through the available means of communication today. The comparison with what we are discussing today and who will sit in the chairs where they sat after the June elections is also glaring. In the past, even when well-known artists were chosen, these were people like composer and conductor Stavros Xarchakos and singer Nana Mouskouri. I understand that our society has changed and that we live in the age of TikTok in politics. However, I wonder if the decision taken in 2014 to elect MEPs by preference crosses was actually correct. Yes, it is much more democratic, healthier etc. On the other hand, in today’s relentless political communication, what chance does a worthy local politician, volunteer, academic, diplomat, self-made entrepreneur or technocrat stand against TV personalities and athletes? Europe will take extremely important decisions in the coming years. Decisions that will be decisive for Greek interests, because they will concern defense, the EU’s international relations and other vital issues. The European Parliament is no longer a rubber-stamp body. It plays a very important role in decision-making and in overseeing the work of the European Commission. As a country, you want MEPs who have training, an opinion on more general issues and who can develop relationships and alliances with their colleagues. Under no circumstances do you want – for reasons of purely national interest – those who wait for Thursday to fly back, and whom you only find speaking with Greek interlocutors in Greek hangouts in Brussels or
Strasbourg.
Perhaps a mixed system of a single list and cross preferences could have been found and agreed upon, something like a state ballot for the European Parliament. This would have ensured the representation of the country by people who know the issues in depth.
What’s done is done, however, and it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone in the future to change the MEPs’ election system. But since the issue is serious, it is up to us to at least do our duty, as voters. Let’s read the candidates’ CVs, let’s put aside who we “know” from TV and choose those we would trust to represent us in Europe.
In other words, we should ensure that some candidates who under normal circumstances have no hope of being elected are spared from the ensuing communication storm.