What a bunch you are! Wisdom prevents me from taking sides as most of you are tarred with the same brush. In the Glory Days of Athens, those holding high office were held in high regard, largely because they merited their positions. There are a few decent chaps – and chapettes – in the House, but it’s time to call a spade a spade; too many members are what can only be gently described as of comparative mediocrity. Such disenchantment is enhanced by those fancying themselves as television stars, with distinctly mixed results. The most virtuous, as Plato said, are those who content themselves with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.

And what of probity? As Aesop supposedly observed, “we hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” By the way, little is really known about Aesop, but he’s often been described as a somewhat ugly slave who through his ingenuity acquired his freedom and became an adviser to kings. No parallel intended.

In some countries, even an ass used to be able to get elected in a safe constituency but, as France has shown, there are now few safe places for politicos to hide, even in la campagne. Admirables in Greece and elsewhere in Western Europe have started electing anyone in preference to established names, not always wisely perhaps and partly as the result of unsocial media and populism.

There’s a rumour that Agriculture is going to import some sheep, as if there aren’t enough already in the towns and countryside. If they’re too sheepish to make up their own minds, you might wonder why Admirables that slavishly follow consignes de vote should have the right to vote in the first place. And, of course, democracy was in no way intended to promote the insidious concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat. What’s the value of papers seeking the views of people in the streets? It’s pure sadism to reveal how ill-informed they are, with views that beggar belief – as if the role of politicians is to supply them with jobs or bags of flour. Mind you, with what leaders get up to on their travels, who should be surprised? No wonder some of the brightest youngsters decide to quit the country. I must have a word with Tsipras. He could use their help, although there’s sometimes a long queue to enter Greece these days.

As for the latest Budget speeches, no-one seems dare raise one of the most important issues. When is an attempt going to be made to reform the public sector, not just merge a few bodies? Whether in government or opposition, members seem terrified of the incompetents and lazy sods littering the civil service, local authorities, the police, the hospitals and schools – to name but a few. Are there so many you can’t risk losing their votes? And with only occasional oblique references, what are economists and businessmen afraid of? Can’t they too call a spade a spade? Perhaps they’ve never seen one…

Fooling others may be a survival technique but even more worrying is politicos’ ability to fool themselves. It’s not in my list of recommendations. Hopefully a few thoughts get through although chatting with politicians is like dealing with primary school children – a lot of repetition is necessary. You can’t blame people for thinking it’s not tamiflu you need but blood or brain transplants, ideally from donors of different communities to your own.