Editorial: On the sly

Before it came to power, SYRIZA was unabashedly pledging that it would transform the country overnight into the land of milk and honey.

The promised abolition of the bailout memorandum with one article in one law was nothing less than a promise that life would return to pre-crisis levels.

In theory, a SYRIZA government would not merely abolish the ENFIA real estate tax, for which citizens paid yet another instalment yesterday. It was to reinstate the minimum wage and holiday bonuses, abolished by previous governments, for civil servants and pensioners.

What is actually happening in practice? Not only did the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government break its promises, but it also marshaled all judicial means at its disposal to block the return of the holiday bonuses (worth two monthly salaries annually). Even worse, it brought the matter before the courts secretly, or on the sly.

This alone confirms that SYRIZA sacrificed everything on the altar populism in order to rise to power, and that it continues to sacrifice quite a lot to hold on to it.

It is sacrificing any credibility it has left. Even worse, it is sacrificing the toil of citizens –  always secretly, always on the sly.