A government out of steam
There is an old Greek saying – my grandfather used it often: “Don’t admire the swimmer when he first gets into the water, wait till he is done,” meaning wait before you declare someone or something a success. About five years ago, in this column, I was hopeful that the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis was willing and able to bring about major positive changes to the country. Today I am not so sure.
I think the government did well dealing with Turkey weaponizing the refugee crisis and pushed back on the issue of territorial waters, showing to the world, but especially Turkey, that Greece has its own red lines. The government did very well also when it came to the Covid crisis. Clearly the Greek people agreed and gave Mitsotakis another electoral victory a year ago. But that was then, and this is now.
For the last year the Greek government seems to have been out of ideas and out of steam. The National Health System is in critical condition, but the government says that is not true and in any case there is little it can do. The price of everything is going up but the government claims there is nothing it can do other than a “gentlemen’s agreement” with market players, and periodic small giveaways to consumers, both measures of dubious effectiveness.
Once a month or so, the PM, before the cabinet meeting, announces that he is giving strict instructions to his ministers to take care of business, but they seem to ignore him. Ministers spend more time appearing on TV programs, or buying expensive carpets for their offices, than tending to business. Meanwhile the Plain of Thessaly is still damaged from last year’s floods; countless dead fish float in the sea (we are told that everything is OK now) and gangs of criminals steal wires from the railroad in broad daylight. Are the Greek people better off now than they were a year ago? If the answer is “no,” then the government has failed. For many years now (since about 2000), I have been hearing from Greek friends who live in Greece, “The PM would like to make changes, but they don’t let him.” Who are “they”? If a PM feels that “they” are a problem he should come out and denounce them, otherwise he should quit his office and go home rather than be captive to “them.”
The fact that the government does not have a strong opposition from the left or the right is not a problem, rather it is an opportunity to go full steam ahead with needed, and long-overdue, reforms to better the lives of ordinary Greeks. Why should people support a center-right government which does nothing to solve their everyday problems? The left opposition might be in crisis today but there is no guarantee that it will not be strong in the future. The right opposition might be weak for now, but next year it might not be.
What are the PM’s goals? To do well for Greece? He better start now, or he will miss the opportunity. To go down in history as a long-serving and successful PM? Time is running out. The economy, relations with Turkey, the refugee issue, the everyday life of people cannot wait forever. He needs to act now and decisively; currently he is the master of the political field; opposition, both outside and inside his party, is weak and he has an opportunity that few Greek PMs had.
Mitsotakis started “swimming” five years ago and early on many of us admired his work. Will we continue to admire Mitsotakis the swimmer once he is done?
John Mazis is professor of history at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
