No plan nor coordination
Prime Minister George Papandreou could not have hoped for a clearer mandate to rule, and the prime minister’s only real adversaries are the country’s mounting problems. His task is the same as that at which his predecessor failed and for which he lost the election. Even though it is too early to make any predictions, it is clear that the optimism of this administration’s early days is beginning to wane. The ship has already started to take on water, and it hasn’t even sailed out into open seas yet. Sure, the waters are very choppy, but this is not something Papandreou should be complaining about, as it is the very reason behind New Democracy’s defeat – not Papandreou’s personal radiance, nor the reliability of PASOK. In the midst of this difficult financial and political climate, the prime minister chose to adopt a series of symbolic measures, effectively tripping himself up. By restructuring the country’s ministries by merging some and separating others, he gave the impression of a dynamic beginning. But he has defied the principle that you only pull down a structure when you are ready to immediately replace it with another fully functioning one. Fifty days later, his ministers are still scrambling for a role. The selection of general/specialized advisers with weighty resumes gave the impression of meritocracy at work. On a practical level, however, this bogged down the state machinery. All these factors combined have created a certain amount of chaos and a lack of political leadership that has meant delays in problem-solving. And the difference for this administration as opposed to its predecessors is that there is no more room for delay. What Greece needs right now is a well-formulated and realistic plan and strict daily coordination and supervision of the state apparatus. The government so far appears to have neither a plan nor a coordinator, at least if a succession of conflicting announcements by various ministers is anything to go on.
