Inspectors of our everyday life
Since our political leaders urge us not to be «mean-spirited,» we should admit that when party leaders, whether they belong to the government or the opposition, visit hospitals, tax offices, urban planning offices and so forth, their actions are indeed guided by the needs of society and not by concerns related to their public profile and image. We should acknowledge that, as if by magic, politics escapes unscathed from such surprise visits, even when these visits take place before the television cameras – if not because of them. The TV crews are invited to record the self-congratulation or the criticism coming from senior figures whose surprise visits are as unexpected as sunshine in the middle of a summer’s day. Substantially speaking then, what is to be gained from such inspections? These inspections seem to imply that the public sector has been discredited and is now nothing but a military camp whose guards are under the constant threat of the rounds of the general and potential punishment? So, we end up believing that our vast public sector can only function effectively if it is faced with this continual threat, meaning that clinics, post offices, the various branches of the Social Security Foundation (IKA), vehicle inspection centers (KTEO), the airport, and ports can only function in a smooth fashion if they are subject to regular rounds by the prime minister or the opposition leader. But we would first have to admit that we live in a country where the public sector is falling apart and that someone has to be responsible for this – one of those grim inspectors. We would have to admit that we live in an undeveloped society, a society that is in need of constant supervision and control for it has failed to claim its rights, a society that is ruled by a political class that is totally unable to carry out its programs and safeguard democratic institutions. The rounds in the public sector are as sincere as the candidates’ overtures to the people. They are also as effective. When the inspectors are gone, everyday life restores its sour despotism.
