Lawmakers and their ‘clients’

We are shocked by the dialogues included successful the lawsuit record of the OPEKEPE cultivation subsidy ungraded due to the fact that they exude clientelism, corruption and endless cynicism. In reality, however, they bespeak the hopeless effort of lawmakers and enactment supporters to support live their narration with their voters. 

Once upon a time, an MP, particularly a determination representative, had plentifulness of favors to “sell” to the client-voter. He could name him to the nationalist sector, adjacent to the constabulary oregon the occurrence department. He could adjacent resoluteness a pending lawsuit with the taxman oregon assistance him get a pension, sometimes adjacent if helium wasn’t entitled to it. He would telephone the formerly state-owned National Bank and get his constituent a indebtedness oregon the formerly state-owned telecom institution OTE to unafraid him a landline without waiting for years. Some of the supra could beryllium done straight by the constituent with a bribe, but the mediation of the MP was the archetypal preference.

With these and different things, Greece went bankrupt and the customer-voters felt justifiably betrayed when the successive bailouts came. The Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP), which introduced the merit-based recruitment successful the nationalist sector, had already cured the curse of unjustified appointments. Independent tax authorization AADE greatly narrowed the margins of governmental “intervention,” OTE, the National Bank, and Olympic Airways are nary longer state-owned enterprises.

What tool is near today for a subordinate of Parliament to entice a constituent? A call, so that “a young man” completes his subject work astatine an advantageous post. An involution to guarantee a subsidy is paid, and everything that has to bash with the broader nationalist assemblage and the caller big, gray, opaque assemblage of “consulting services.” A subordinate of Parliament tin still committedness to unafraid amended attraction to a sick idiosyncratic successful the nationalist wellness system, though there the margins are narrowing, and the doctors who work hard each time successful adverse conditions virtually hatred these benignant of telephone calls. 

Until recently, a person could assistance someone who had nary qualifications get a occupation successful the wider nationalist sector; possibly assistance name him stationmaster astatine the railway web relation OSE, for example. You see, clientelism sometimes “kills” oregon dissolves the state, and helps explicate large nationalist disasters.

Regional representatives bash not person the vantage of appearing often connected television, and see themselves trapped successful their clientelistic relationships with the voters. Their voters, successful turn, progressively consciousness that the paper of favors and arrangements has been reduced, so they logically take anti-systemic politicians and wantonness the traditional parties of power.

The work of those who govern today is great, due to the fact that they did not uproot this governmental civilization and were unable to renew the governmental personnel, oregon the party. They besides surrendered to each sorts of go-betweens and unionists, and successful signifier betrayed each those due farmers who wanted to beryllium freed from them.

But for Greece to change, we request to get to the constituent where the MP has to bash different work. But besides we request to present rules of transparency for everyone, due to the fact that arsenic agelong arsenic there is “backroom dealing” we will perceive that poisonous but justified: “Don’t you spot what’s going connected astir you? Your sole occupation is the 100 thousand euros I got for sheep I didn’t have?”