The Art of Misdirection

The tragedy of Tempi is the greatest tragedy that Greece has experienced in many years. A head-on collision between a freight train and a passenger train led to the death of 57 people. Apart from the great loss of life, of course, the tragedy was unique in the fact that it was entirely due to human planning. One may refer to Mati, but despite the human errors made, it was still a natural disaster, which is a testament to the pain and injustice we all felt about Tempi.

But when such a tragedy like that is entirely due to human design, the next logical step is finding the culprits. The police arrested the stationmaster, who did not realise that the two trains were on the same line and therefore did not take the necessary steps to divert them. However, for many of us, the stationmaster is not the only culprit. A system that relies on a handful of stationmasters to protect the lives of so many people, does not seem to be the right one, especially in the age of automation. So blame should be, and indeed is being sought, higher up the hierarchy, up to and including government.

The Commission of Inquiry and the government

The first step was taken with the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry, which met from the beginning of 2024 until the last days of February, when it completed its work. But who heard of this commission of inquiry in the modern media environment? Few. This is not because of indifference but for two main reasons. The first is that the commission of inquiry was rushed to completion. The opposition as a whole is calling for the continuation of the committee because, among other things, the file of the Larissa Appeals Prosecutor's Office was not used, important witnesses were not called and the request for the transmission of the testimony of former Transport Minister Karamanlis to the proper investigative service for perjury was not heard (source: efsyn.gr). Such information, of course, would be damaging to a governmental commission of inquiry, so it was closed.

Αλλά ο βασικότερος λόγος που δεν ακούσαμε πολλά για την εξεταστική επιτροπή ήταν ότι η πολιτική σκηνή φέτος είναι υπερπλήρης. Γάμος ομόφυλων, απογευματινά χειρουργεία και ιδιωτικά ΑΕΙ, είναι τα βασικότερα  θέματα που απασχόλησαν την ελληνική κοινωνία, και για καλό λόγο. Αλλά γιατί συνέπεσαν τόσα θέματα μαζί; Είναι τυχαίο ή είναι συγκάλυψη; Τα φώτα φύγαν από τα Τέμπη και έπεσαν σε όλα αυτά. Αλλά όλα τους είναι θέματα που δημιούργησε η κυβέρνηση: τώρα θυμήθηκε τη ΛΟΑΤΚΙ κοινότητα; Τα δύο «πιο δωρεάν» αγαθά στην Ελλάδα, η υγεία και η παιδεία, έπρεπε να πάψουν να είναι δωρεάν ταυτόχρονα με την περίοδο της εξεταστικής; Η περίπτωση σύμπτωσης φαίνεται να είναι απίθανη. Οπότε η κυβέρνηση για να προστατευθεί δημιούργησε τόσους αποπροσανατολισμούς ώστε το θέμα να ξεχαστεί.

The responsibilities of the press

Was the government alone in this project? No. It had the media with it, which has often been accused of aiding the cover-up, ever since the time of the Petsa list, which had international ramifications. There is, however, another perspective, which explains things a little more precisely: Tempi do not "sell". The media want an audience that is interested in what they publish. Playing Tempi for the tenth consecutive day doesn't help this goal, since the important current affairs would also warrant some spotlight. However, instead of learning about the inquiry and the other current affairs issues, we got to know more about Panos Vlachos and his "incitement to violence", as well as the whole family situation of the Paleochristian family.

And I ask directly: Are real journalists missing, or are we, the viewers, worthy of our fate? Is it their moral decline or our need for gossip? I won't give an answer here, because I don't have one. I suspect both are to blame. The point, ultimately, is that the Tempi inquiry is over and, to the relief of many, it has been left in obscurity.

The Art of Misdirection

In conclusion, society's attention is a huge political force, and the government has turned it away from Tempi. By manufacturing important social issues, it has managed to transform political debate. Along with it (purposefully or not) stood the media, which further silenced the issue. But we do not forget. We cannot forget. In the face of those who impute no criminal responsibility to political figures and those who continue to elect them, we demand the truth, not for revenge but for vindication. Although vindication will not bring back the victims, our struggle for it may bring back our humanity.