Introduction: ‘Modernisation’ and the Structural Constraints of Greek Politics

Abstract Contemporary Greek politics are marked by tensions between pressures for reform and the structural constraints to their realisation. The pressures combine those emanating from processes of Europeanisation (European Union agendas on economic reform, for example) and the domestic demand for 'modernisation' (the agenda of former Premier Simitis). The two have been seen as synonymous in Greece. The resultant tensions have created a fundamental issue of governability: in a number of areas, Greece is une société bloqué. There are systemic weaknesses deriving from the institutional capacity of the state, the regime of 'disjointed corporatism', and cultural practices of clientelism and 'rent-seeking'. These constrain agency and leadership strategies. The analysis places the recent Simitis project in an historical context and attempts to delineate patterns of change and continuity. The reform process has been asymmetrical and uncertain in character. The problem of governance remains and, in turn, it questions the nature of Greece's convergence with the EU. Notes The number of Greek students registered for degrees at UK universities and colleges is forecast to be 28,000 in 2005, second only in number to those from China (32,000). The number from Cyprus is estimated to be 4,200 for the same year. The forecasts are contained in a report for the British Council and Universities UK (The Times, 21 April 2004). Major investments have involved a new airport, arterial roads, tram and metro lines and suburban railway. Note, for example, the comments of The Times, a fierce critic obliged to eat humble pie: 'To Athens, an apology. The world media has let you down. We said these Olympic Games would be a disaster and they have not been. The Greek achievement has been to give us an Olympics, of which they can be proud. If only the rest of the world had realised that sooner' (31 August 2004). The argument relates to domestic policy; foreign policy may be a limited exception. Arsenis was also associated with the nationalist tradition. Simitis had himself been a founder member of PASOK and he came from a distinguished left-wing family. Radaelli defines 'Europeanisation' as: 'Processes of (a) construction, (b) diffusion, and (c) institutionalisation of formal and informal rules, procedures, policy paradigms, styles, "ways of doing things", and shared beliefs and norms which are first defined and consolidated in the making of EU public policy and politics and then incorporated in the logic of domestic discourse, identities, political structures, and public policies'. On 15 July 2004, Prokopis Pavlopoulos presented a new Bill to reform the civil service. Amongst other reforms, it proposed a new process of re-evaluation for all general directors and directors in each ministry, counteracting changes introduced by PASOK in 1982.