Stelios Kympouropoulos does not need my help. Despite his severe disability, I doubt he needs support from anyone. So clearly does see his reality. He appears to be at absolute peace with himself.

What else can I, or any of us, understand from his situation? Whatever I say, it would seem superficial and idiosyncratic.

This man, with his personal struggle and worth, became a symbol of a country. He became a symbol of the people of a country that honors values and quality, of people who appreciate dignity and ability.

He became a person who, by his example, is a source of strength and respect for each one of us.

So what kind of “lesson” can Deputy Minister of Health Pavlos Polakis give to a man like Kympouropoulos? He does not have the moral “stature” to even stand near him.

All that Polakis succeeds in evoking is our feeling sorry for him. The image he projects is that of a man of cheap, pitiful, and panicky power.

Yes, he is in such a panic that he even attacked Kympouropoulos – because he is afraid of him and of what he represents.
No, Kympouropoulos does not need anyone to defend him. He is able to take care of himself – but the country needs to face-up to the phenomenon of Polakis.

The citizens must come face-to-face with him and decide if he resembles them, if people like him are worthy of them, if they are represented by the “Polakis type”.

If a “Polakis School” should be built, as the government is trying to build.

I do not want to believe that Polakis is as tragically cheap as he seems.

He cannot be. He must have some good in him. I cannot imagine he grew up with such principles. I’ve been to Sfakia, the area of Crete where he was born and raised, many times. I have only respect for the people I meet there.

Perhaps Polakis is moved by a false sense of loyalty to his beloved friend, Tsipras.

He is certainly in panic about the day after the upcoming elections.

He is not the only one. But he is the worst among them.

It is said that politics is a brutal sport. That a politician does not want to injure his opponent, but to destroy him.

Few have the strength and the wisdom to stand above the fray. Few have minds sublime or souls serene enough to leave something annoying or even unjust to pass unanswered.

Few are as measured in their speech as the late Konstantinos Mitsotakis.

And few in politics can withstand the passage of time. Few are marathon runners, such as K. Mitsotakis.

The others are comets. They appear and disappear, leaving behind a bad memory, a bitter taste.

But they do not do only themselves an injustice. They also offend society. And the homeland.