Wasted time
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in Parliament that there is no magical recipe to fight corruption. When everyone from Greece’s premier down to the last voter agrees that that is the case, one has to wonder what can be done to rid the political system of this persisting ailment. The truth is that the government wasted much precious time. It should have come up with a package of institutional anti-graft measures in its first 100 days in power. Now the prime minister has announced a new regulation according to which the heads of pension funds will be appointed by the Bank of Greece and the Capital Market Commission. If this had been decided back in 2004, we would probably not have to go through the recent scandals. A second issue is staffing the broader state sector. Politicians across the political spectrum must finally realize that they cannot just fill key posts in the state apparatus with retired officers, failed deputies and businessmen. These seats must go to technocrats and require close screening of their career and credentials. Karamanlis is aware that corruption in Greece is deep-rooted. The conservative administration must stop dragging its feet and make sure it picks the right people for state sector jobs. Finally, it must announce additional measures to tackle corruption, such as the recent decision to protect institutions like the Independent Authority against money laundering.
