Whenever I see anything with the root εργ (work) in the same sentence with ex-Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, I have a little giggle to myself. On the few occasions I have been asked to give my opinion on Tsipras, I have replied, “Είναι ένας άεργος, άνεργος ακάματης.” A workshy, unemployed lazy fuck. His whole life has been spent scheming in the murky party depths of student and national politics.
I’m not making a political point here; I’m talking about the man. I am well aware that the economic crisis was caused by successive PASOK and New Democracy governments and, in desperation, Greeks put their faith in a sit-in, striking schoolboy with little education and no world experience. Unsurprisingly, with his braggadocio he made a bad situation worse, bringing in the Third Memorandum. The Troika ganged up on him, put him in his place, and made life tougher for ordinary Greeks. It has always surprised me that this brutal outcome was never labelled the Tsipras Memorandum as, in his eagerness to capitulate, he opted to use his only “talent” to get out of the mess and save himself: betrayal. Lafazanis, Varoufakis, Konstantopoulou, and his government’s stance were all cast aside.
Now, almost a decade later and after three election defeats, his party SYRIZA is in turmoil. Tsipras resigned last year, and a complete stranger to Greek politics, Stephanos Kasselakis, replaced him last September. If ever there was a plant or a Manchurian candidate, it was Kasselakis. A year on, Kasselakis has just been ousted. It is the worst disintegration of a party I have ever witnessed. A new grouping (The New Left) has left, another group, 6 + 6, is against the leader but still part of the party, and then there are “The 87” – whoever the hell they are! It also seems 87 is a variable number.
Tsipras has said very little publicly, but he is active behind the scenes, which explains how I came across απεργάζομαι.
It basically means someone is scheming, someone is up to no good. Never was a word more apt.