Last week’s tragic jet collision over the Aegean, and the subsequent loss of a Greek air force pilot, may be over and done with but it still raises questions of crucial political significance. And the way these issues are tackled will determine the credibility of Costas Karamanlis’s government and the country’s entire political system.
First of all, in the ongoing military dispute between Greece and Turkey, our armed forces — more specifically, our air force pilots — constitute the only body of citizens who carry out their duties to the letter.
Another crucial issue to bear in mind is that the next few months will see tensions escalate for two major reasons: The European environment is becoming increasingly foreboding for Turkey. In December 2004, the only country expressing significant resistance to Turkey’s EU bid was Austria, but over time it was joined by Germany’s Angela Merkel and skeptics from France and the Netherlands — each for different reasons.
The Ottoman Empire survived for years as the “sick man of Europe.” It would be a great historical mistake if it is embodied within the EU as a different kind of patient.
