System collapse
The economic system applied in the wake of Greece?s military dictatorship has come to its end. Meeting in Brussels Wednesday, the leaders of the European Union effectively signed the death certificate of a bogus concept that came to be known as ?powerful Greece.?
Only the naive could believe that the collapse of this economic myth would not affect the political class that created it in the first place. Some would like to see a radical transformation of Greece?s political scene. They obviously ignore the fact that in parliamentary democracies, changes like this take an awful long time.
A key feature of the post-1974 era was that politics received too much attention compared to other parameters such as a healthy economy, a good education system, character building and everything else that makes a durable society. As a result, Greek politics degenerated into an endless discussion about ?democracy,? ?freedom,? ?rights? and ?achievements? — concepts that came to undermine all sense of discipline and self-control, which are conditions of a workable democracy.
The past 18 months have seen calls for strict fiscal discipline and economic reforms, as demanded by the country?s foreign lenders. Greece has no doubt given up some of its economic sovereignty. The implementation of economic measures and day-to-day management will from now on lie with the troika.
Greece?s new debt deal discussed yesterday in Brussels in the context of the eurozone crisis, will tie the hands of the government of George Papandreou, but also any other government that follows.
In other words, the country will effectively be run by governments whose task will be to carry out the coming agreements — under the watchful eye of the troika. The political implications are clear. Among them, the end of the post-1974 system. Some people may dream of reviving the famous ?Ohi? (no) of Ioannis Metaxas and the resistance to the Third Reich. History often repeats itself as farce.
Greece can only adapt to developments. The political system failed to realize the full potential of Greece?s membership of the European community and, later, of the euro area. Both these major developments were treated as opportunities for easy profit. Now, thanks to the dramatic irresponsibility of Papandreou?s administration, this system is faced with a tragic dilemma: give in or leave the eurozone.
