By Alexis Papachelas

It is such a shame that much more was not done when it could have been. Just recall the government’s energy and hope when it came to power in 2004 and the good political climate that prevailed. It was a government with a popular premier, with no real rivals and a public that was eager for change. It was a government that could sail through any crisis without batting an eye.

The crazy thing is that it turned out to be a government that knew how to break eggs, but not to make an omelet. For example? Education reform: In its rhetoric the government pushed the limits, it dealt with massive reactions, it paid the price in the polls and eventually came up with a half-measure that is already collapsing.

The public health system is crumbling, public debt is mounting, corruption is growing, Hellenic Railways is still losing money, the state is strangling entrepreneurship and the country looks increasingly like an old ship heading into a storm with no compass and with an exhausted crew.

The people are tired of hearing about reform and derive more pleasure from seeing the blame laid on the shoulders of banks or the electricity company. All over the world, the focus is now shifting toward bolstering the state and in Greece this provides a good opportunity to those who wish to preserve the status quo, forgetting just how corrupt the Greek state is. Just as when Constantine Mitsotakis was in power, though for different reasons, “reforms” have become something of a joke. Back when the people wanted them and the prime minister could enforce them, he didn’t. Now no one wants to know and the prime minister cannot anyway.

It truly is a shame that five years were wasted without the country seeing the bold reforms it so badly needed, and the ruling party must sit down and take a look at what made it fail on this count.