Need for courage, on both sides
The year 2010 will be a key one for Greece, because, as the late socialist Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou used to say: «If we don’t change, we shall go down.» Regardless of party identity, everyone hopes that the new government of George Papandreou, Andreas Papandreou’s son, will summon the political courage to curb state spending and move on with the much-debated and much-delayed reforms that the country’s economy so urgently needs. This will by no means be an easy task. There will be many negative reactions as well as from within PASOK, and particularly from the party’s old guard. At the same time, everyone hopes that Antonis Samaras, the newly crowned chairman of the conservative opposition, will find the courage to back the government when it tries to push through the painful yet requisite reforms. This is the only way forward. It is the only way we can hope that 2010 will be the year that Greece will change instead of plunging deeper into debt and inaction.
