Hollow stereotypes
Partisan bickering over the state tender bill, the heated debate about corrupt journalists and the Church bribery scandal have given voice to skeptics who hold that the rule of law is far from sovereign in this country. Whenever a scandal hits the headlines, responsible officials stereotypically put the blame on a small minority of corrupt underlings. One wishes that was true. Unfortunately, graft and conflicting interests are endemic throughout the system. Although it would be an overstatement to say that such ill phenomena are the rule, the stereotypical defense is hypocritical through and through. The root of the problem lies in the breakdown of the former value system as a result of social changes that have taken place in the last decades. Society lauds quick and easy financial gains. This explains why the political class and the people have been quite cool about recent disclosures. Public loathing or contempt, once a reflex that helped prevent such incidents, no longer exists. Instead, people tend to greet dubious success stories with a mixture of envy and admiration, if secretly. In truth, we have been taken over by our own bad selves. Greek society is deeply corroded. The problem can neither be solved with moral babble nor by lodging charges. What we need are drastic institutional measures and the mobilization of monitoring mechanisms that will put the brakes on corruption. If that is to happen, the political system must show clear political will. The conservative government has to carry through its campaign. A different morality must be forged to put an end to the climate of toleration and impunity – the real incubators of the latest scandals.
