Tragicomedy (Τραγικωμωδία)

While ERT is being 'mothballed', the former staff continue to pretend that they are still employed (they have just started broadcasting the 12 o'clock news, for example, 8 minutes late in starting, in accordance with 'Ggreek time'). By watching and listening to them through the EBU-assisted streaming, it is clear that they are playing out their #tragicomedy on air. If you want to watch it too, here is the link: http://www3.ebu.ch/cms/en/sites/ebu/contents/news/2013/06/monitor-ert-online.html

Ιf you understand Greek well enough, you will realise that they are interpreting every action, every move, every decree in THEIR favour, including the most recent one that declared that ERT must be allowed to re-open right now, but it must also be re-structured and changed: The oracle has spoken, but its utterance has been lost in translation. They refuse to budge from their chairs, presenting a perfect display of the typical characteristic of Greek public-servantism. Yes, there are public servants who do their job well, but at the end of the day, they are public servants in the same way as the inERTias. They think they can bring down the government, but it is clear that no one in Greece wants elections (we all know the results of an election if it were to happen tomorrow).

I am providing readers with little updates on what is happening, because things are happening very fast in my country, and many things are happening all at once: for example, last night on the Greek private channels, ERT's salary payments were revealed - ERT foreign correspondents were getting paid at least 3,500 euro, one made 400,000 euro in 6 months, two were being paid 450,000 euro a year and there was no clock-in/clock-out to check that employees were coming to their work place (a decree enforced by unions). Hence, many of those employees really did not need to go to work at all to earn their money.

What's for lunch, mum?
Barbounofasoula.
Oh, OK, can I make a pizza?
Sure.

If this deliberate (on my part) attempt to show up the undemocratic practices of ERT (and in a wider context, the whole of the Greek public service) annoys followers of my blog/FB page, I can understand that, which is why I am losing followers at the rate of a 7-year-old losing its baby teeth. Maybe these people are more interested in food photos, which I still post (surreptitiously) to keep people appeased, although I myself find them boring because I have been cooking the same foods for the last decade and I really would prefer to get my jaws stuck into a good Asian meal to break the routine from time to time. One thing I can practically guarantee is that you won't see Greek restaurant food photos on my blog - unless someone else has paid for it (and these nice people know who they are).

Thank you, friends!

But this is a GREEK FOOD AND IDENTITY blog/FB page, so I will continue to show up these little secret in-group titbits of the society I live in because my food actually depends on then antics of these κηφήνες:

κηφήνας (kifínas) m, plural κηφήνες

(biology) drone (male bee)

(figuratively) parasite, freeloader

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