The two brainless remarks of this summer

By Flora Alexandrou

From antiquity to the present, wise voices have warned that a reckless word can ignite hatred, belittle human suffering, corrode trust, spark fear, or even turn ignorance into official policy. Politics, however, remains crowded with figures who let their tongues run far ahead of their minds.

The first example came in July, in the middle of the deadly wildfires that destroyed homes, lands and claimed two lives. Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis dismissed those deaths as an “unfortunate incident”...