“Today, in our pseudo-democracy, coming to power involves flattering public opinion or being shown on television.” Two and a half decades have passed since 1996 when Cornelios Castoriadis formulated this bitter conclusion, and what has definitely changed is that disjunction has become a conjunction instead of “or” and “and”.

The coming to power is preceded by entry into parliament. Everything is simpler there, in the sense that the requirements are even lower.

To become a major party candidate, you must first have money or a sponsor to cover the cost of your campaign. You must then be associated with a local organization in order to nominate you, unless they have direct access to the leadership team, in which case you are bypassing the collective processes. And, of course, in order to be attractive to voters and win competition with fellow candidates, you must have some comparative advantage: recognition, influence in the local community, financial support, access to the media, fluency in satisfying sycophants.

From now on, based on the moral panic that has gripped the parties, other criteria for value content will be introduced. ND, SYRIZA and PASOK removed their members who were in contact with the 12-year-old in Kolonos, while A. Pacis, who is involved in offshore companies, receives money from a state body and is financed by a bank to manage bad loans, has become a symbolic figure of an unsound enrichment.

All this happens as long as there are election commissions in the parties. And grassroots organizations are asking for proposals for people who know who they are electing. And sometimes (in the case of SYRIZA) there is a digital platform for posting resumes in the name of transparency.

By the next election, all political leaders agree that a serious investigation is needed to avoid intruding on the lists of individuals who will sooner or later expose their behavior, professional activities and family secrets.

Citizens are not involved in any way in the process of choosing candidates, which could be something absolutely useful and certainly deeply democratic.

What candidates are they looking for? Initially celebrities and influencers. SYRIZA will choose artists who are close to her (Tsanaklida, Tumasata, Athanasiou, Renezi, and so on), N.D. he watches Joanna Paliospirou and dreams of Sophia Bekatoru.

A variety of recognizable people are in demand: athletes, journalists, meteorologists, even singers who became famous thanks to reality shows. Given the priority of descendants, sons and daughters who inherit the seat along with the network client.

Technocrats have been taking over them lately to demonstrate superiority and managerial prowess, and to reassure the public that some of them will get the job done. The term “technocrat” is relative: it covers both Mosialos and Pagonis.

Citizens are not involved in any way in the process of choosing candidates, which could be something absolutely useful and certainly deeply democratic.

Because the way things are, we come back to Castoriadis: “The so-called “representative democracy” is not a real democracy. Its representatives barely represent the electorate. First of all, they introduce themselves.

* Ms. Angelica Spanu is a journalist and writer.