Election contest leaves key issues un-addressed
Neither of the two main contestants in this coming Sunday’s elections has touched upon the major problems and challenges that globalization presents. This is a serious lapse, given that such issues are bound to have a strong bearing on the country’s economic policy, its prosperity, jobs, income and quality of life in general. By contrast, in other recent electoral contests elsewhere in Europe, such as in France, it was precisely such issues that dominated the election agenda, rather than the shifting of responsiblity onto opponents, acrimony over scandals or the competence of party leaders. In fact, political leaders proved more «provincial» than cosmopolitan, at a time of fast global changes, and their parties, even at this crucial election time, behaved as though the country was an island cut off from the rest of the world. There has been no substantial reference or commitment on their part regarding education, the society of knowledge, vocational specialization or investment in research and technology. There has been no reference to Greece’s comparative productive advantages, on which new programs must be based in line with global demand for goods and services to create jobs and prosperity. There has been no specific proposal on the great education reform that the country sorely needs, on upgrading tertiary education and the training of highly skilled professionals – the most important form of capital for economic growth. Similarly, there has been no discussion of particularly crucial issues, such as the changes under way in the labor market, the new realities created by economic migration, or social security reform – to which parties simply make scant reference. No one dared make specific proposals, or even passing reference, to the utilization of the huge amounts of European Union investment subsidies expected to flow in until 2013. How are we going to tap this money to promote the use of new technologies, boost investment and strengthen the competitiveness of small businesses? We heard nothing about the burning environmental issues, despite the huge calamity of forest fires over the last few weeks. This is especially sad, given the extent to which the country’s main industry, tourism, relies on the environment. Even in a narrow economic view, the pursuit of growth within the framework of environmental protection is a new orientation for economic activity, which can combine quality of life with investment in technology and new products and services. But again, the deafening silence hit the «green» economy, too.
