Shackled
If outside observers were to examine Greece from a distance, with the help of official data and documents, they would form a very attractive picture of a democratic and politically stable country. They would notice that Greece is the only country in the Balkan peninsula which is a eurozone member at a time when Germany is experiencing a recession. They might well be surprised by Greece’s economic indicators. The same observers would be amazed to discover that this small country is to host the 2004 Olympic Games while at the same time, it will be the locus of a large inflow of EU funds until 2006. But were these observers to delve more deeply, should they scrutinize the fine print, should they require more detailed information, they would have an unpleasant surprise. They would find out that the government is unstable, despite the fact that it enjoys a parliamentary majority. They would see a prime minister who is unable to impose his will upon his party, they would see that despite the favorable financial indices, the economy is anemic. They would see that investments are in decline despite the ongoing public works, they would see that the majority of businesses have excess debts and are weighed down by the strain of unchecked growth and baseless stock market expectations. They would certainly notice that the data on public finance only tell half the truth. They would also realize that the country which entered the promising environment of the eurozone has suddenly ground to a halt as it cannot rid itself of the commitments of the past as well as the dependence created by the old, protected economy. The policy which promised reform, Europeanization, and which got Greece into the eurozone, is unable to take the second step, that of incorporating the conditions and the procedures of a free and competitive economy. The country is being bled dry by numerous cronies and businessmen who have supported it (in exchange for preferential treatment) in the past and who are now asking to be protected and taken care of in order to cover up their follies and excess. This is, unfortunately, Greece’s double image: attractive on the outside, gloomy within – a country with potential, but whose strengths and government are shackled by an illicit network of connections and favors in which everything has become enmeshed, and by which everything is narrowly circumscribed.
