Greek Editorial: Hybrids Fundamentally Unsafe
Thanks to the laws regarding “fair use,” TTAC can blog on your behalf. Obviously, we don’t cut and paste entire articles. Except when we do. This is one of those cases where a misleading headline deserves the full monty [via ekathimerini.com]. Or, as the Greek sage/storyteller Aesop said, “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.”
Our politicians’ obsession with their public personae and the emphasis that they put on public relations stunts often causes serious problems for public policy and prevents political staff from doing their job properly.
The most recent example of this phenomenon was the government decision to replace public officials’ luxury gas-guzzling automobiles with smaller, more environment-friendly hybrid vehicles.
The decision has obviously not been thought through properly.
One of the consequences of this decision is that the prime minister and senior ministers will be using hybrid automobiles which cannot be armor-plated because of their relatively small engine capacity.
However, given the country’s terrorist threat, government officials must realize that their personal security should not be compromised by efforts to please the media through communication tricks.
After all, any incident involving these vehicles would, above all, jeopardize the image and stability of the country.
More by Robert Farago
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Oh, I think they could manage if the hybrid in question was an LS600h.
Well, they could, but it would have to be Kevlar-based armor, whose cost would offset the hybrid benefit.
Kathimerini (καθημερινή) is not a reliable newspaper. It's one of the worst conservative-driven newspapers you can find in Greece. And since the convservative party of Greece lost the elections a month ago, they are attacking the new government in every way possible. As regards the hybrid cars, it's part of a bigger plan of the new government to cut costs and be more environmentaly friendly. Not a bad move if you ask me, as long as it continues. As regards the armoring, not all goverment owned vehicles are armored here, and I don't see why armoring can't be fitted in a hybrid, it's not that heavy after all. Generally, the article is full of junk science, just what I would expect from this rug newspaper..
kurkosdr: I had the impression that Kathimerini is something like "The Guardian" of Greece. As for conservative, the last 3 years they run several editorials flaming the conservative party for the policy of "far niente" which inevitably led to the elections result.