Editorial: Gauging the weighing scales

Greece has the misfortune of being in a neighbourhood in which, so often in the past, the winds of nationalism swept away the voices of moderation, consensus and logic.

Yet, it also had the fortune of addressing national issues, guided by two very important legacies, two shining beacons, bequeathed to her by two great Greeks.

The one is the adage of the Greek national poet, Dionysios Solomos, who said that, “The national is the true.”
The other is a maxim of Eleftherios Venizelos, who said that, “There are not national just causes, but rather national interests.”

The citizens of this country should forget neither the first, nor the second aphorism.

For their part, the country’s leaders must not forget that their greatest mission is to promote and secure national interests.

At the same time, citizenry and leadership must not forget that, especially in tumultuous regions such as our own, compromise is often necessary.

At Davos, Switzerland, a first step was taken to resolve a dispute that has bedeviled our country and the broader world for the last 25 years.

The step was taken at a time that it is clear that the perpetuation of this issue, or even worse putting it on the back burner in Greece, benefits no one.

That does not mean, however, that national interests should not be guaranteed at every step along the way, or that in the give and take of compromise, both sides of the scales must be weighed very carefully.