by Christos Zabounis

I have always wondered why, while so many polls are being conducted on the most unlikely issues, no one has dared to ask what the Greeks think of the royal family, formerly of Greece. The audacity, because this is what is at stake in a country where Democracy is considered armored, has the signature of the newspaper “Parapolitika”. In a survey, therefore, by the G.P.O., the acceptance of Pavlos de Gress amounts to 31.5% of those surveyed. The percentage is significant, if one considers that his father had collected the same 50 years ago, in the referendum on the State. At an equally high, more than double, percentage, 72.4%, the acceptance of Maria Karystianou, of the Association of Relatives of Tempi Victims, is measured. These are two figures who concern the domestic reality, for different reasons. The first for his regular visits to Greece, and the second for its leadership in the movement to seek the truth regarding the deadly train accident. Although it is customary, the Director of Research of the G.P.O. avoids analyzing the specific polling data, limiting himself to conclusions about the parties. However, the two aforementioned persons are not related to the political formations, demonstrating a dynamic outside the system. What does this mean? A lack of trust in the existing institutions and a search for alternative proposals. Certainly, the country cannot be governed by protest movements, nor is there currently a question of changing the regime of the Presidential Republic. However,  as our ancient ancestors used to say, “The times do not wait, we must act.”