Democracy is the only option
It took 50 years for the Greek state to develop more effective systems to contain tax evasion. This is not said to mock or denigrate the state; quite the opposite. Let us take a look at the statement without bias, without dismissing it as a PR stunt. Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and the police’s Criminal Investigation Department launched an operation following a number of complaints lodged via the Appodixi (receipt) digital app and were able to dismantle a major ring involving 287 Chinese-owned businesses that had tampered with cash registers and issued phony receipts, reporting just a tenth of every transaction to the tax authorities, by the very simple – and ingenious – method of moving the decimal point. In just 27 days, this network had issued 220,000 receipts with a stated worth of more than 3 million euros.
Sure, digital technology is what allowed this crime to happen; but it also helps democracy evolve.
It helped identify suspects with a serious criminal history who were involved in a recent hooligan “civil war” clash outside the Panathinaikos soccer stadium in Athens and to discover their connection to criminal gangs that are even accused of dealing drugs inside university campuses. It helped bring to light a racket involving local authority and state employees who were extorting money from bars, cafes and restaurants in the capital and on popular holiday islands in exchange for writing off or turning a blind eye to their transgressions. It even helped us learn that the mastermind of this racket is a 43-year-old woman, codenamed “Nancy.”
So? Who didn’t know that there is an illegal state within the legitimate state that sullies its name and work, and is, often, stoked by it? Populists and demagogues love to proclaim that if Greece were a proper democracy, at least 1,000 more scoundrels would be behind bars. The road from random speculation to proof of illegal acts that can lead to justice, however, is a painful one, pitted with challenges, setbacks and losses. So, when the masterminds of criminal rackets are arrested, the success lies not just with technological advances, but also with our democratic institutions.
As we take stock of the quality of Greece’s democracy 50 years into its transition – or the Metapolitefsi – the single most important takeaway is that democracy is the only option. Even when it’s not working as well as it should, it offers, by its nature, room to evolve, improve and learn. And the more we exercise criticism of it and give it our wholehearted support, the more it gives back.
