Will it be change or inertia in the new year?
As 2007 comes to a close, we are seeing a growing number of signs that the government is hesitating in the implementation of the bold reform program it had set its sights on. On the social security front, there is already talk of only a small adjustment being made to the system, while the tabling of the new draft law in Parliament has been postponed until the spring. On the education front, the government has unfortunately failed to clearly convey the message to the university community that it plans to support the immediate implementation of former Education Minister Marietta Giannakou’s reform plan. This hesitation has emboldened extremist groups who appear willing to resort even to violence to stop the reform process. As far as Olympic Airlines is concerned, we have yet to see anything but very nebulous plans and postponements. The administration of Premier Costas Karamanlis was elected on its reform platform and the various obstacles it has encountered from within its ranks should not knock it off course. The prime minister himself has said that the country must choose between radical change and inertia and now, at the end of 2007, this is exactly the dilemma faced by the government.
