Editorial: Caring for the middle class

There has been much talk of late about the middle class, and by all appearances its electoral behaviour will be decisive in determining the winner of the next general election.

One must, therefore, ask how political parties approach these social strata.

Is it in an “imaginary” or fluid manner, as the main opposition party often maintains, or is it simply necessary to attract these segments of society to the party with a view to winning elections?

Both approaches are wrong-headed.

First of all, the endurance of the economy and social cohesion are demonstrated by the existence and strengthening of the middle class.

It is in middle class that the degree of prosperity, the collective expectations, and the normalcy in a society is reflected, and that impacts on the choices of the electorate.

If during the four-year term of the previous government, the middle class was battered by heavy taxation that was part of a class-based bias, today its protection by the state through all possible means must be a top priority.

The middle class – whose members are times somewhat sarcastically referred to as “proper household people” – are not a force of conservatism, but rather a force that advances Greek society and its further evolution and development.

Deep inequalities, which we must try to eradicate, are tempered when a country has a large middle class.

Let us also not forget that the extremes in the political system are often fueled by social chasms, and they try to undermine democracy through their populism.