In the dark forest
The wiretapping scandal exemplifies what is wrong in Greece: the dysfunction of institutions, the judiciary, the political and economic systems, civil society and the media.
It is well known that Greek rule of law faces serious issues. These problems persisted throughout the 20th century, even after the transition to democracy. However, the situation has deteriorated rapidly since 2010. The economic crisis was, in fact, a symptom of a deep-seated institutional crisis. With weak institutions, a lack of informal behavioral norms respected by the political system, a significant institutional deficit, and no liberal tradition, it was inevitable that institutions would be the first to suffer.
As the bailout era ended, we hoped for improvement. Instead, the situation worsened, and deliberately so. I recall that former prime minister Alexis Tsipras openly declared his leftist SYRIZA party would ensure control over “the joints of power” during its second term. Many, including myself, feared SYRIZA might succeed to control them during its first term, but despite its earnest efforts, it failed spectacularly. The conservative New Democracy government that succeeded the leftists aimed to achieve this control – and it seems to be doing so very effectively. Not only does it manage these joints of power efficiently, but those who were rightly concerned during the SYRIZA era are now silent.
The wiretapping scandal exemplifies what is wrong in Greece: the dysfunction of institutions, justice, the political and economic systems, civil society, and the media.
One of the greatest scandals in recent history – the systematic surveillance of Greek officials (ministers, politicians, judges, military personnel, police) and citizens (especially journalists and business people) by state, para-state, and private entities – remains unresolved. Not only was the case archived by the Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office on the basis of a remarkably weak report, notable for its creative accounting as it were, but the prosecutor has also preemptively discouraged any challenge to it, stating: “From the extensive evidence above, it is unequivocally concluded […] It is noted that no other country has conducted such a thorough judicial investigation.” However, instead of focusing on a single tree, let’s consider the entire dark forest.
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You can read the rest of my op-ed by clicking here.
For the original Greek version, click here.
[The op-ed was originally written by me in Greek for the Sunday edition of Kathimerini and was selected for the international edition of the newspaper and translated by its staff.]