After the summer, time to act
When the summer torpor comes to an end, it will again be time for politics. But will the government and the opposition parties be up to the task? The conservative administration appears to be taking refuge behind its wafer-thin majority in Parliament. However, a new round of reforms seems out of the question. As too are measures to crack down on tax evasion and the wasting of state funds. On its part, the socialist PASOK opposition has veered into populist territory and its policy proposals increasingly run counter to common sense and the rules of the free market. The Coalition of the Radical Left, or SYRIZA, has confined itself to extreme, hardly realistic slogans, while the Communist Party (KKE) remains faithful to its highly predictable, maximalist posturing. Meanwhile, the fiscal crisis is deepening and Greece’s competitiveness is rapidly declining. One hopes that politicians will return bolder after their break. Otherwise, we will be in for a difficult, politically unproductive winter with politicians of all sides shying away from the real issues.
