Opinion
. ..The country’s real political problem is the contempt for politics and the citizens’ lack of confidence in the country’s political elite. This problem is not, of course, an exclusively Greek one. It is connected with the deep change that has, over the previous years, marked a political arena rather suddenly stripped of ideological boundaries and political differences. At the same time, European integration has diminished the State’s political power and upgraded Brussels into a supranational directorate. In this context, it is clear that the characteristics sought in a political leader have undergone a similar transformation. More specifically, our times do not favor the emergence of leaders who can stir the people with visions, revolutionary changes, and radical social programs. A new model of leader seems to be prevalent in modern democracies, whose basic traits are moderation, a willingness to negotiate, technocratic expertise and a pragmatic perception of our era. This model may not forge public solidarity on the basis of faith, passion and fanaticism but it does secure the necessary confidence for the continuation of a mission. Judging from the means and the methods by which political confrontation takes place in this country, it is easy to conclude that our political leaders are unwilling or unable to adapt to the modern political landscape and the new type of political leader – an adaptation that seems to have already taken place at the level of the electorate… Even worse, the government depicts a picture of a totally ungrounded optimism about Greek economic prospects. It would be very alarming if the government’s stance were a product of its ignorance over the lurking dangers and not an attempt to conceal the true picture for reasons of propaganda. The government must become more serious. For more than five years, it has presented its economic polities as the unavoidable product of economic interdependence in a globalized world. Now, suddenly, it claims that the Greek economy is immune to all outside influences and it can continue to grow at a 5-6-percent rate even when the USA, Japan and the EU are on the verge of recession.
