OPINION

Staffing the state apparatus

The practice of public consultation, introduced by the socialist government of George Papandreou, is one of the administration’s most positive steps. That said, the public consultation policy must by no means hamper the smooth functioning of the state or create more problems than it solves. As far as the staffing of the state apparatus is concerned, experience in the aftermath of the most recent general elections on October 4 illustrates two things: First, that a large segment of the state has become paralyzed because key posts have yet to be filled. And, second, that the vast majority of the newly installed staff would have been appointed anyway as a result of political or personal favors. The PASOK government should set a final deadline for the appointment of the remaining officials in the broader state sector, as the state apparatus has effectively ceased to function properly since last spring, when the country entered a protracted pre-election period.

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