In admitting that one of the key issues of the current systemic crisis of capitalism is the clash between virtual and real economy, this paper seeks to grasp how reality-grounded politics are, in turn, being contested by untrue political representations of reality. For this purpose, it will focus on the Greek case to show how negation of rule of law, overt transgression of constitutional rules, and blunt violation of human rights, are being presented both by government officials and mainstream media as normal expressions of a newly defined legal order.
Accordingly, law-and-order is not believed to be jeopardized by broad corruption, tax evasion, and scandalous protection of the economic interests of the upper classes. The impact of diminishing national sovereignty on domestic political order following the troikas’ involvement in the management of Greek debt crisis is never questioned either. To the eyes of the three-party coalition government, legality is only threatened by legal protests and other forms of popular resistance, as well as ordinary criticism on the part of the parliamentary opposition. To the extent that these forms of defiance are seen as sources of illegal and anomic behaviours that fuel violence, thereby leading to disorder and chaos, they justify harsh coercive policies and practices.
To address this ‘unreal reality’ that underlies present government communication strategies, this paper will rest upon analysis of relevant political discourses from June 2012 onwards.
