Megalos thrives. Everyone is buying what he’s selling, that mixture of humility and pride that sits so well on a priest, and the hint of an old-fashioned intolerance for people who are not like us. Now I’m sure he and Cosmatos are—semiotically speaking—in bed together. They use all the same dog whistles, the same humblebrags, the same pleas for tolerance that somehow make intolerance seem quite reasonable. He’s Greece’s most eligible celibate, and no public occasion can take place without him. Even Europe loves him, inviting him to diplomatic events to keep him inside the fence. For as long as he’s prepared to shake hands with the German Minister for Poverty and Aid and talk about the African Problem in measured tones; for as long as he has good things to say about the Chinese efforts against air pollution, then he’s one of them, after all. A great thinker, is Nikolaos Megalos, uniting the working-class Right with the wealthy Right, representing those who might otherwise slip into more unpalatable corners of the political spectrum. Not that he could get through the door without my balls to make him richer.