|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Vulgar-akis: a typical Greek politician
Giorgos Vulgarakis (or Voulgarakis). A typical Greek politician. "Greek" being an aggravating factor I guess. Yes, typical politician but more importantly typical Greek. Typical but not common as he is a top member of the governing political party in Greece and acting minister of "Mercantile Marine and Island Policy" - one of the most important ministries in Greece. Before that he was the Greek Minister of Culture. Wow! Now let's turn to some of the stuff this person believes.
A few days ago, the Pasha above was accused by 25 members of the Greek parliament of engaging in business activity - something explicitly prohibited by the Greek constitution for members of the parliament and especially ministers. It turns out he owns a number of companies, with very significant activity and in fact a huge growth of assets during the years that he has been minister; these are companies whose activities are very relevant to the competencies of the ministries he has headed or is heading.
So, this person gave a number of TV interviews, right after the scandal broke, and in all of them made the nauseating statement that "what is legal must also be and is moral", basically hiding behind the fact that he is not actually the director of these companies, just the owner (himself or a member of his family). Ahahahahaaa! You little piece of shit! You should be stripped naked and fucked by horses on Acropolis.
There is a difference of legal and "not illegal". It is one of pragmatics. He said that what he did was legal and therefore moral - something arguably correct in a democratic state, in theory. However, we all know that existing laws do not and probably cannot cover or address all kinds of human social or economic activity and therefore it does not follow that something not explicitly illegal is moral. Vulagar-akis' actions are definitely immoral while not necessarily illegal - although the latter remains to be proven.
Vulgar-akis is simply the super-extra version of the typical neo-Greek - a true Hellenic prodigy of cunning self-interest, hypocritical efficiency and unbreakable egocentric focus. On top of that, other typical characteristics of neo-Greeks like a general lack of sophistication in thought, lack of social sensitivity, moral laxness and certainly lack of a complete well-rounded education remain.
Where the fuck are the real Greeks?
He has bypassed the law
First of all, I would like to apologize to Greek readers, because I have never heard of Mr. Vulgarakis before. Secondly, I am familiar with the issue: I didn't vote for Mr. Berlusconi because of his huge conflict of interests. According to your article, Fotios, Mr. Vulgarakis "owns a number of companies whose activities are relevant to the competences of the ministries he has headed or his heading". From your article, I also understand that this gentleman has become richer since he became a politician. The issue here is the conflict of interests. I can talk about it, because I am familiar with Berlusconi's conflict of interests and I know the issue. A conflict of interests occurs when a person in a position of responsibility has competing personal interests. Family interests are a classic example of conflict of interests and, according to the article, they are relevant to the case at hand. Some countries/ institutions have a zero tolerance approach to conflicts of interests. Other countries/ institutions allow you to minimize or mitigate your conflicts of interests. In this case, a politician should disclose his conflict of interests and ask for approuval. In the specific instance we are dealing with, Mr. Vulgarakis should have disclosed his conflict of interests BEFORE taking office. Upon informing the public of his economic activities, he should have asked for approuval. A third party should have evaluated the situation and offered a solution. His defence is that "it is not illegal" and, if it is legal, then you can do it. True. If something is legal, then you can do it. However, according to your article, that behaviour is neither legal, nor illegal. He has bypassed the law by exploiting a legal loophole, a technicality. Being clever and getting away with it is not the same as being moral, especially when respect of the law is formal, as opposed to substantial. When you deal with a "grey area", you should discuss the issue on its own merit. It is neither legal, or illegal, therefore the law does not offer a solution to the problem. He has exploited a weakness of the law, a legal gap. Berlusconi's case is different, because his conflict of interests is well-known to voters. However, the principle is the same. You cannot be a good leader, if you are self-interested and self-serving. Formal respect of the law is not enough when you work for your own material interests. Voters should punish him at the next elections.
yeah
yes indeed. Thanks for your comment. In fact, I found out that he succumbed to the public outrage after his comments (not that most of those complaining are much different than him) and he resigned from his minister post a couple of days ago. Good! By the way, his name is usually spelled "Voulgarakis". Pronounciation is the same, more or less, and the root of the name is actually the same one as the implied one which in fact is the same as the one in the name of Bulgaria the country (do Bulgarians know what the root of the name of their country denotes in English?)
Provincialism
I apologize mispelling the Greek politician's name. I should know a bit more about Greek or Bulgarian politics, considering that they are both European nations and they are our neighbours. I have lived in 3 countries, but I have not lived in Greece or Bulgaria. Anyways, it is a form of provincialism that I don't know so much about Greece or Bulgaria. I only discussed this article because the story reminded me of Berlusconi's conflict of interests: he controls the media, housing estates, insurance companies, banks, advertising companies, football teams, you name it. That's why I thought I would be able to discuss your article. I have recently moved abroad, again, because of my work. I will soon be able to talk about my new country. So, maybe, I am will not be that provincial anymore!
Assets and Liabilities
If you are rich and/ or own the media, you deserve praise for your hard-work and success. However, if you are a politician, your assets become liabilities. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME HAVE A GOOD DAY AT WORK
Post new comment