Leadership struggle

It was undignified and ridiculous, but sadly the inaction of the Greek political class has become increasingly familiar. While politicians argued about Greece's future, their country, on the precipice of disaster, slid ever closer to the edge.

Even before his resignation, it was clear that outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou would not remain in office regardless of the outcome of last week's confidence vote. Since then, Greece has experienced a power vacuum with the EU bailout on hold. Greek citizens were unsure of what was going on, and Greece's international partners were left without a spokesperson.

But now the former vice president of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos, is taking the helm. It was clear from the beginning that he was a frontrunner for the position.

The fact that, as the former governor of the Greek central bank, he may have known about the falsified economic figures with which Greece duped the eurozone when it joined the monetary union, has been set aside. After all, Greece's inclusion was more of a political rather than economic decision.

In the meantime, Papademos has earned a reputation for being a reliable economic expert on the European stage. He was therefore thought of by many as the obvious choice for the top job. The financial expert is not only an authority on the economy, but also on his home country: he requested that the interim government be granted an extended period of time to govern, in order to fully implement all the necessary reforms.

Papademos has also demanded the right to help designate the people who will fill key cabinet positions in his government. It's not just about implementing a few unpopular but necessary reforms in order to receive the EU bailout money. Instead, it's about reforming an entire country.

Whether it's the health care system, education or the state, every area must be freed from corruption and nepotism. Greece must have a normal system where citizens can receive state services without having to pay a bribe.

Mentality change

Greece needs a functioning taxation system to which people will voluntarily contribute, safe in the knowledge that the state and its bureaucracy won't just pocket the money. There has to be a trustworthy social system where citizens see their money put to good use in their children's schools and in health care.

But such a change cannot occur in just a few weeks; in that sense Papademos is right. The change must not only occur in the organizational structures, but also in the hearts and minds of the people. That cannot be achieved with the same political elite that has been in the saddle for decades, those who still cannot figure out that it's about the future of the nation and not their own hides.

It remains to be seen whether Papademos can convince the Greeks that the reforms are necessary, even without the euro and the EU, simply so that the country has a future. This last week has proven that the current establishment is certainly not capable of doing this.

Author: Daphne Grathwohl / ccp, slk
Editor: Martin Kuebler