Apostolos Kouroupakis
Well, well, well, if you have a seat and some showmanship experience, apparently everything becomes a piece of cake and the gold dust blinds you from reality. At least, that's what I thought when I stumbled upon the Deputy Minister of Culture, Mr. Michalis Hadjiyiannis, proudly announcing on the official media of the Deputy Ministry of Culture that he sang at the birthday bash of Mr. Nikola Papadopoulos, the President of DIKO.
It's truly a shame, a colossal shame not to know what position you're supposed to fill. It seems like Mr. Hadjiyiannis has mixed up his days of performing in Athens with his days of being the Deputy Minister of Culture in Nicosia. It reminds me of the Cretan song "I love my mother because she cares for me, but not as much as I love you, my sweet love."
I wonder if he plans to attend all political leaders' birthdays or only the ones who approve of his appointment as Deputy Minister. It seems like we have a long way to go before any government takes culture seriously. Not just culture and intellectualism that some people are quick to criticize, but the kind of culture that requires individuals to have a conscience and know when to dance and when to work. Unfortunately, for Hadjiyiannis, it's still all a party.
It's been 40 days since he took office as the Deputy Minister of Culture, and we're still waiting to see what he plans to do apart from making videos of himself, attending events, and bringing an army of photographers and others to theaters and galleries. We've heard about the youth card, tax incentives, and artist status. But what's next? Is he waiting for the Cultural Services to solve all the problems so that he can come back and say, "See how well I handled it"?
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[This op-ed was translated from its Greek original]
