May 2, 2012
Greek voters are slated to head for the polls this weekend. The candidates are pledging to change everything in the crisis-plagued country. But in many cases these promises are coming from the very politicians who helped drive the country into the abyss.
A group of men with microphones and cameras pushes its way to the podium under the dome of the rotunda at the Zappeion Palace in Athens. The audience stands up and claps, and the crowd chants: "Hellas, Hellas, Antonis Samaras." But the deeply tanned man who is entering the room with so much fanfare is not the head of the conservative Nea Dimokatria, or New Democracy party.
"Karamanlis," shouts a woman in a Chanel outfit, as she excitedly grabs the arm of the person standing next to her.
The appearance is a surprise for the party supporters. Most of all, however, it is a typical scene in this election campaign -- the shortest in the history of the Greek republic. Kostas Karamanlis, the nephew of the former president and party founder Konstantinos Karamanlis, governed Greece from 2004 to 2009. The nicest thing that could be said about the former prime minister is that he allowed his country to descend into ruin with his eyes wide open. He partook in the Olympic party in 2004, but he did relatively little for the country after that.
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