(άρθρο στο Greek Politics Specialist Group Pahmplet No 5)
The September 2015 Greek elections –the third time
in a year that the country went to the polls– was another act of the political
system’s inability to handle adequately the structural deficiencies of the
domestic economy and to exit the severe crisis after six years of significant
social cost. It was a broader effort, during the 2009-2015 period, that was
characterized, unfortunately, by back and forth moves and strong political
liquidity, as (a) the Greeks voted five times –since mid-2009– for their
government, that is translated on average into a national election every 15
months; (b) seven political leaders and/or high-level personalities moved in
the Prime minister’s cabinet; and (c) ten politicians and/or academics were
appointed heads of the Ministry of Finance, which was the ministry with the
core role of the (fiscal and economic) adjustment process towards the exit of
the crisis.
Unfortunately, the broad political support on the
new program, which was the largest in parliamentary terms since the beginning
of the crisis, was not depicted in governmental changes that could forward the implementation
of structural reforms and the recovery of the economy. Politics has overcome
economics one more time and, in particularly, “micro-politics”, as the leader
party decided to go to national elections in order to deal with its internal
problems after the U-turn that led to an agreement for a third program. The
pre-election period the followed was consistent with the “immaturity” that
characterized the political elite, as the major debate retained populistic
elements, was based on vague terminology and was focused on quasi-moral
arguments on the past. There was a significant absence of public and political
dialogue on the way forward, the needed reforms and the distribution of social
costs during the new effort to exit the crisis. It is a state of political and
institutional “immaturity” during which society is not absent, as it feeds its
existence and continuance. People, and especially, the young –justifiably to a
large degree if we take into account the heavy burden that is on their
shoulders– seemed to remain angry and preferring to make a “reaction statement”
toward the status quo of the “adjustment era” instead of focusing on the (real)
factors that led to the collapse of the Greek economy paradigm.
This attitude was depicted –to a large extent– in
the results of the September 2015 elections as a significant part of the
society either aligned with the dominant pre-election narrative or preferred to
abstain from the voting process (historical lower rate of participation), or
even voted for the neo-Nazis party. However, the ultra-positive development is
that this attitude remained pro-European, as more than 80% of the new
parliamentarian landscape supports the country’s position into the Euro area,
while the major political movement that supported a “Grexit” did not manage to
enter the Parliament.
The crucial challenge of the re-elected SYRIZA-ANEL
government is –after a period of economic turmoil (deposit outflows, capital
controls in the banking sector, public finances deterioration, shrinkage of
growth dynamics, negative pressures on employment, etc.) and social pressures
(increased refugees/migrants inflows, etc.)– to work, with the support of the
EU partners, on the establishment of a “business as usual” environment. A
stable environment, based on the implementation of the third program, would
allow deposits to gradually return to the banking system (after the new
recapitalization), enterprises to plan their business activities, investments
to take place, international transactions to be fully implemented (eliminating
the “Grexit” anxiety), new jobs to be created, long-term debt sustainability to
be enhanced, etc. So, the sooner the situation is stabilized the better the
prospects of the economy will be. Such a “success story” (lovely phrase for
some Greek politicians) can contribute significantly to the maturity process of
the political elite, but also of the Greek society, turning anger into
constructive passion for a new paradigm for the Greek economy.
(δημοσιεύθηκε στο Pamphlet No 5, "First Thoughts on the 20 September 2015 Election in Greece", edited by R. Gerodimos, Greek Politics Specialist Group, εδώ)
