Radio FM4

Kate Farmer

Cutting to the chase

Alle Stories

Erstellt am: 30. 1. 2015 - 15:21 Uhr

When elections become part of the problem

Reality Check: elections and Greece, Akademikerball, Sinai attack, Koalas under threat, Ig Nobel prizes

Greece is eagerly awaiting the changes set out by the new government, and the euphoria of Syriza's victory is still bubbling in the air.

EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS

The party's over, but is the hangover about to start?

However, as the fizz starts to fade, people are starting to ask whether the government can deliver on its promises. The answer is "almost certainly", and we're more likely to see some repackaging of the problems rather than any real solutions.

The reason? Quite simply, the problems Greece is facing are not issues that can be resolved with a "quick fix", nor are they essentially political in nature. They are more about the structure of the economy and the society, about developing a sound and sustainable base, and embracing modern technologies and techniques. None of these are going to happen by changing the government, nor will they happen overnight.

Greece may be the cradle of democracy, but right now, the repeated changes of government are the baby throwing the toys out of the pram.

Elections are a crucial element of the democratic system, but too many of them become a heavy financial burden and counter-productive to progress. The constitutional government term in Greece is four years, but recently governments are averaging two and a half years. That means almost twice the spend on elections - at a time when the country desperately needs to save public money and use the resources it has on the people's needs, not on swaying their votes.

Emanual Sigalas explains why he things the elections will make little difference to the Greece's problems, and why the rest of the world should take heed. Elections have their place, but they are not a panacea - and like most medicines, if taken in excess, they can be a poison.