Bring back hiring on merit
One of the biggest ongoing problems to have been created since the end of the Greek dictatorship has been the complete destruction of the backbone of public administration, stemming from the abolition of the institution of general managers and the appointment of high-ranking executives based on who they know rather than years of service or merit. This process of destruction began in the 1980s and has continued until just recently. The changes to the hiring protocol for the higher echelons of the civil service that are being proposed by the Ministry of Interior, Decentralization and e-Governance are steps in the right direction, especially as they suggest barring union leaders from serving on administrative councils. Greece is in urgent need of an effective and organized public administration, where good service is rewarded and poor work is punished. One hopes the current efforts will help and that we will see no more loopholes in the law being used to promote political interests.
