2013 was a trying year for the Greek people and the entire country. The numbers confirm that the consequences of the crisis and the great fiscal and structural reform had a cumulative impact.
The Greek people faced income cuts, increased taxes, an ongoing recession and a wealth of changes in the public and private sectors of the economy, without sufficient bank funding or any other help, but rather by focusing on their own strength, whatever that may imply for transactions, jobs and ultimately production and creation.
One might say that the Greek people faced everything imaginable in 2013 and most will be justified in not even wanting to remember it.
However, if one were to look closer, amidst all the sad consequences, a significant change has taken place, both in the fundamental aspects of the economy, as well as in the ideals, perceptions and culture of the Greek people.
Public finances reached a relative balance and the state can operate without necessitating a loan. The country has a positive external transaction balance, meaning that it can support itself without any help. These two developments combined together create the conditions for regaining our lost independence. Truth be told, Greece proved to the world that –thanks its people’s sacrifices– it can and will remain amongst the core of developed countries.
The great, fundamental change though, occurred in the ideas, consciousness and culture of the people. In 2013 the concept of the clientelist corrupt state which steals and holds everyone complicity accountable, was uprooted. Nobody in this country will invest their hopes and future in such a state anymore.
We have all been convinced that such a sate cannot and will not exist for years. What everyone wants is reliable and distinguished public services, not handouts and job appointments.
Understanding this principle has already motivated the more dynamic population groups in the country.
The adoption of an exemplary austere, creative and productive lifestyle is perhaps the most significant change introduced during this great financial, political and social crisis.
This is what supports and gives hope for better days in the upcoming 2014.
Antonis Karakousis
– Originally published in the Sunday print edition
