Same errors are still errors
The conservative government often tries to absolve itself of guilt by hinting that PASOK opposition is equally guilty of mistakes committed during the Socialist administrations. But if this sort of reaction turns into a pet conservative tactic, it will harm the party as well as the country for the plain reason that New Democracy will hesitate to correct past ills. ND’s reaction is a non-starter because the election result of March 2004 was supposedly a slap in the face of PASOK cadres for their scandalous lifestyles. People wanted a new government that would restore morality in social and economic life. Voters need no further proof of PASOK sins. Regrettably, recent corruption scandals suggest that the government failed to meet its pledges of purging the political system of corruption. Note that before the elections Premier Costas Karamanlis and current Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis promised to trim public spending (said to be an annual 10 billion euros during PASOK’s rule, mostly a result of corruption). A free enterprise-oriented economic policy succeeded in slashing budget deficit from 7.8 of the GDP in 2004 to 2.6 in two years. But it’s far from certain that the reduction was due to that. In fact, that -10 billion may still be wasted every year, as the premier’s promise to rebuild the state never materialized. Corruption is still rife. Tax dodgers located by the Finance Ministry’s electronic cross-checking systems are not taken to court but escape unscathed because of controversial settlements with the tax office. ND knew that PASOK operatives were squandering the pension funds. They should have prevented their own from doing the same.
