The rotten state
The Greek state is indifferent: It allowed trains to travel at more than 160 km/h without having bothered to install the electronic safety system – and was proud of the high-speed Arrow trains! The state is deaf and blind: Train drivers had warned time and again about the problems of the railways and accidents had increased – though until last week there had been no victims – but the state had neither seen nor heard anything. The state is sloppy: People with minimal training and short-term contracts (to accommodate other voters waiting for a temporary job) were appointed to positions of responsibility. The state is not taken seriously: Instead of being feared by the contractors it hired, it allowed some brazen companies to extort it and do what they wanted, without consequences.
The lesson of the national railway tragedy last week that killed 57 people is that the state is rotten and we need another one that will be modern, efficient and strong. Reforming the state was the biggest expectation of the second term of Socialist former premier Costas Simitis. It never happened. Its reorganization was the central commitment of the conservative government of Kostas Karamanlis. It never happened.
In the modern era, the role of the state is being upgraded everywhere in the developed world. Everyone understands that without a robust state, without close cooperation with the private sector, there can be no development. But while the scene is changing radically around the world, in Greece the state is weighed down by its numerous problems, proving, among other things, that it is dangerous for the lives of its citizens: It is a clientelistic, authoritarian and backward state.
While the scene is changing radically around the world, in Greece the state is weighed down by its numerous problems, proving, among other things, that it is dangerous for the lives of its citizens: It is a clientelistic, authoritarian and backward state
As for politicians, some of them think that politics is simply about supervising their area of responsibility, enjoying the perks of power, hiring consultants to come up with clever slogans and stylish interventions. And when the crisis hits, someone else is always to blame – the opposition, some party rival, or perhaps the stars were not aligned. Power is not for having fun – it comes with great responsibility. Without responsibility, power bites back badly. You would think that by now all politicians would have understood this.
The reform of the state and the building of a modern, development-friendly state that respects its citizens presupposes the cooperation of wider political and social forces, on the basis of a long-term plan, through a meaningful and disciplined democratic dialogue. Coalition governments would be ideal to implement such a complex and difficult plan because they are the only ones that can express a broad enough section of society. After all, Greek coalition governments took on the most difficult challenges in recent years. In any case, such an undertaking presupposes some kind of consensus and, in some matters, consent. The campaign period could offer itself for such a dialogue.
At the end of the day, the train collision at Tempe was not caused by the state of the past, but the state of today – which did not care enough to prevent a tragedy. It is the same state that allowed the wiretapping of PASOK/KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis and all the others whom the Prime Minister’s Office was suspicious of, for various reasons. It is the same state that distributed almost 65 billion euros, largely on clientelistic criteria, so that the government could boast that it achieved economic growth (of poor quality, by feeding consumption with taxpayers’ money). We must finish with this rotten state. Either we will reform it or it will destroy Greece.
