Resolutions and open secrets

The European Parliament’s recent resolution and its rather obvious observations on the state of affairs in Greece would be rendered redundant if the country’s political parties showed the slightest spirit of honesty. 

The dangers the resolution draws our attention to are things that Greeks discuss among themselves every day in any case, so where’s the surprise? The state of law and everything it entails – from the workings of justice and the freedom of the press to individual rights and political corruption – are not matters that concern us at the academic level alone in Greece. 

We have a plethora of recent examples that have turned abstract theory into painful reality: the Mati fire, the Tempe rail disaster, the law for television broadcasting licenses and the wiretapping affair are but a few examples of the scandalous structural dysfunctions that cast serious doubt on the Greek state’s credibility. 

For citizens who know what kind of country they live in, the European Parliament’s raised eyebrow is not a vindication but ironic. Seriously, did the gatekeepers of European ethics only just discover that the Greek state is rotten? Where were they when Greece diligently concealed its sins beneath the mantle of European-subsidized growth? 

Every single evil in this country can be traced back to institutional rot. The European Parliament is belatedly, obtusely and fearfully (without inconvenient details that will expose friends and acquaintances) telling us something we already know. It’s a vicious cycle that has been the norm for decades: Because governments are never held to account, not judicially or politically, they always do their job poorly and rely on favors and handouts to get re-elected rather than achieving actual results. Because the citizens’ relationship with the state and its functionaries is transactional – literally and figuratively – they have an opportunistic approach to politics rather than fighting for their institutions and demanding politicians’ respect via their vote.

Because the media knows that society, unaccustomed to the notion of a well-functioning state, is under the spell of hypnosis, dogmatism and intense partisan polarization, it panders to bias at the expense of the objective truth; this is, after all, much more profitable from a business perspective. Because the justice system is born from the bowels of the state and its actors operate on the state’s terms (they are educated, paid and unionized by it), it too acts like an arm and is, therefore, unable to effectively deal with its transgressions from the law. So congratulations to the European lawmakers for suddenly discovering what we already knew. The question now is: What do they plan to do about it? Probably pass another resolution.

The European Parliament was right to reprimand us. If only it also had the tools to identify and, most importantly, reverse the practices that defy European norms. It is hard, however, not to see in this reprimand – beyond its suspicious timing (is the Greek state, with all its dysfunctions, the product of the Mitsotakis government alone?) – significant elements of populism mixed with ignorance. The problems of the Greek media, for example, cannot be summed up in a dramatic oversimplification about a hostile environment for the media and journalists.

This a country where the yellow press is alive and kicking, and where anyone can say and write what they want, about anyone they want, without ever facing any legal or professional consequences. “Police brutality” in a country where the law is rarely enforced and where the functionaries of law enforcement are usually drinking coffee and talking about the gym is an exaggeration at the very least (one propagated by the Left, which capitalizes on it too). “Legal wiretaps,” moreover, were not invented by New Democracy; they are a construct of dubious legitimacy serving nebulous objectives that existed before 2019.

Again: The European Parliament’s resolution exposing our national failings is welcome; it would just be good not to remember these failings only when our friends are not in government.