Editorial: Electoral law: Meaningful change or a flash-in-the-pan?

In the Sunday edition of To Vima it was revealed that a change in the electoral law is being developed, in an effort to address the lack of trust in the political system and create conditions for healthy political competition. All that remains if the government’s planned changed to not turn out to be one of its usual flash-in-the-pan moments, in order to draw attention away from the political conflict and painful measures being voted in Parliament.

It is commonly held that the electoral law does not current circumstances and that the long-term financial crisis has more or less affected everything upon which the political debate has been based since the restoration of Democracy. It is not just the unacceptable 50-seat bonus which distorts the will of the electoral body. It is the collapse of bipartisanship and the need for broad coalition government, since the crisis shifted the focus on the problems of collective parties and single-party governments.

It is also the fact the crisis of representation and political corruption in the huge districts with major electoral expenses. It is the lack of democracy within the parties that benefits popular officers and ministers, as well as taking advantage of the state mechanism to look out for party clients.

Therefore it is imperative for a broad consent to change the electoral law and carry out the institutional changes that may cure the current operational problems of democracy. We cannot revert back to the circumstantial political tactics or worse yet, plan these changes based on the prospects of maintaining a partying power.

The crisis we have been experiencing in the recent years is not just attributed to the existing problems in the economy, but also, to a great extent, to the longstanding problems of our political system. The clientelism between parties, MPs and voters resulted in the degeneration of representative democracy and consequently the submission of the greater national interests to the occasional and well-known partisan and personal pursuits.

If the new electoral law does not restore this political imbalance, if it does not contribute towards regaining the lost trust in politics and politicians, then it may benefit its creators in the short-term, but in the long run it will be another wasted opportunity to get out of the rut.

TO VIMA