The erosion of trust
A look back at the period after the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1974 shows that pre-election periods always heighten expectations, due to lavish pre-election promises and the distribution of handouts. And this is how the economic climate usually improves during that time. It’s happening again now.
The reaction of pensioners is typical: As polls show, they currently see things with less pessimism, after Greece’s social security and pension fund EFKA announced that in January pensions will be given a horizontal increase of 7.75%, that 1.3 million pensioners will get a double increase, that 185,000 will get a triple increase and that one in two will get an extra pension. It makes sense. Pension subsidies are, after all, one of the traditional pre-election measures. The other two are public sector hirings and measures to facilitate the owners of illegally built buildings.
So, it just so happens that the procedure to announce approximately 20,000 new job openings in the public sector has matured now. At the same time, illegal buildings inside forests are summarily legalized, along with construction in areas outside town planning, despite the climate crisis and the disastrous floods in Mandra in 2017 and the deadly wildfire in Mati in 2018. A topographical diagram and a property contract are enough to (re)issue a permit to build on plots of land smaller than 4,000 sq.m. – a rule that, after causing extensive damage to the islands and throughout Greece, had been banned.
The old party system has come out of the dustbin, making some people happy. But its practices are destroying something that is truly valuable, especially in difficult situations and at times of uncertainty: the feeling of trust.
The old party system has come out of the dustbin, making some people happy. But its practices are destroying something that is truly valuable
Especially in terms of political trust, trust in Parliament and in the political system, the findings of last week’s Metron Analysis poll are indicative: The wiretapping scandal negatively affects political trust, which has fallen to an average value of 3.9 on the 0-10 scale – the lowest in the entire period after the 2019 general elections. Even if it is assumed that the government will not face a cost for the scandal in the upcoming elections, this does not mean that there will be no cost at all. It exists and – as long as the scandal of these dark practices is covered up – we all pay for it, with the erosion of trust in democratic institutions.
There is also the other dimension of trust: society’s trust of the state’s ability to apply the rules, to protect it and to protect itself. We’re not doing well there either. The most recent blow was the shocking revelations about the children’s charity Ark of the World, which we all considered a model of solidarity and social work toward disadvantaged children. As a result, trust in society also declined, to an average value of 5.5 out of 10, marking the lowest value of the last four years.
The feeling of trust in democracy, in the state and, eventually, society’s trust in itself, is weakening – even though the economic climate is showing a temporary improvement due to the handouts and pre-election promises. This is the important point, this is what remains at the end. We are bound to face the consequences of this drop in trust in a difficult 2023.
We should remember that in 2023, it is forecast that economic growth will be limited to 1-1.8% – i.e. about one third of this year’s. In the next year we should also record a primary surplus of 0.7% of GDP, to achieve what we did not achieve this year, even though economic growth was 5.7%. The target of achieving investment grade is still elusive. It was hoped that we would have achieved it in late 2022 or early 2023, but it has been pushed back to late 2023 or early 2024.
The toughest part lies ahead. The false euphoria which results from handouts and election promises does not help. What we will need is trust – that same trust we are currently allowing to erode.
