The history of Greek bureaucracy is full of scandals. There have been incredible cases documented in public administration. Since the start of the young state that emerged from the War of Independence of 1821, bureaucracy has ruled in Greece with every form of government. Kings and presidents, state leaders worthy of respect and problematic leaders, parliamentarians worthy of praise who honored the people and the vote, as well as third-rate parliamentarians who rose to power. They ingloriously “carried out” their mission and false promises. The various dictators ingloriously “ended” their leadership after having the opportunity to prove – and prove they did – that all dictatorships fall when they have harmed the country and its people.
In peaceful times stupid bureaucracy flourishes – with a view to profit, of course.
Recently, in the region where the first Greek state was born after the Ottoman occupation, an incident occurred which highlights the difference between stupidity and obviously hidden interests. The local residents in the picturesque and historic Kranidi in Argolida realized that they would have to wait many years to finally get an ambulance to cover the area’s needs, which has a high volume of tourism. Faced with state’s thoughtlessness, the local residents formed an association and about a hundred of them managed to collect the necessary funds and decided upon which ambulance to buy. Before the purchase could be carried out a voice intervened – presently unknown – which banned the purchase of any of the five different types of ambulance in order to carry out a tender. Until then everyone can wait!
Stavros P. Psycharis
Originally published in the Saturday print edition
