ΓΡΑΦΕΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ ΠΡΩΘΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΥ
Mr.
President,
On
behalf of the Greek people, we greatly appreciate your words from a true
Democratic leader and a true friend of Greece, maybe the most true friend of
Greece in Greek modern times.
Your
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mayor, dear friends,
“Democracy
under pressure” is a challenging topic, taking place in a challenging country,
at a very challenging historical moment, indeed.
Democracy as a word was coined
in the classical tradition of the city of Athens.
And Democracy was established,
as the President said, as the rule of the people, in the name of the people, by
the people, and also by the law, as opposed to tyranny.
Democracy is not just a fixed
set of governing rules. It is alive! It deals with all kinds of internal
pressures. It opens up, as the President said, a public discussion and comes up
with majority decisions binding for all, as well as elected representatives to
implement those decisions. Therefore, Democracy produces its own legitimacy, as
everybody accepts in advance any decision to be taken by public consent.
Democracy is the framework
within which different views and groups resolve their differences peacefully,
preserving the unity of the society, cooperation among themselves and
prosperity for all.
Within the democratic rule of
law, society is not fragmented by different groups, nor is it kept together by
coercion.
Societies
don’t have to sacrifice their unity to protect their freedom, or sacrifice their
freedom to protect their unity. Freedom and security are simultaneously
guaranteed in the context of a democratic rule of law.
Normally, therefore, Democracy
lives in pressure, deals with pressure and turns internal pressures to civil
unity, to social progress and economic prosperity.
But as it happens with all living
organisms, there are cases when too much pressure is simply not easy to handle.
This is the case when deep economic crises, deep social crises or foreign
threats, turn public discussion into a chaotic polarization instead of a
compromise accepted by all; when extensive disillusion generates public
discontent, instead of democratic legitimacy.
This is the case when Hope is
lost for the many; when common ideals lose their appeal to the public and
common perspectives lose their legitimacy.
In these challenging moments Democracy
breads its own enemy, which is basically Extremism.
Extremism polarizes society,
preventing any democratic compromise. It undermines its Unity and its Freedom
simultaneously. It undermines public order and the rule of law.
Both
extremism and populism talk “in the name of the People” only to destroy public
interest. They both talk “in the name of the Nation”, only to the detriment of
national interests. They both talk “in the name of society as a whole”, only to
subjugate society to all kinds of tyrants, usually presented as “saviors”.
It has happened so many times in
antiquity - in Athens and in Rome - ending up in the demise of society and of Democracy.
It has happened so many times in
our modern times, in post revolutionary France and in the German Republic of
the Weimar.
But it is not the “inescapable”
fate of democracy to fall victim of Populism and Extremism. We have the opposite
examples of the United States under Franklyn Delano Roosevelt in the thirties;
of France under General De Gaul in the fifties; of modern Greece under Eleftherios
Venizelos in early 20th century and also of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing’s friend, Konstantinos Karamanlis in
Greece in the seventies.
In all these cases, severe
social crises did not end up with the demise of Democracy. Instead they were transformed
to new democratic regimes, more socially just, more growth oriented, more
inspiring for the people, protecting and restoring the dignity of the country
as a whole.
In all these cases Democracy
found itself under severe pressure, but it managed to survive because it
restored Hope to the People. And then it restored public order. And then it
restored common prospects for all, dignity to the society and the sense of
unity for the nation.
How did Democracy accomplished all
these miracles?
I
believe through sweeping reforms!
What kind of reforms? By providing
opportunities to all! Because there is no individual freedom and dignity, when
people are deprived of opportunities to better the lives.
But reforms take some time to be
implemented. And even after their implementation, they usually take some time
before they can bring tangible results, results beneficial to all.
In
the meantime, people have to believe in them. So the first thing of paramount
importance in times of crisis is public perception.
People
have to believe in a better life before they can achieve one. “Democracies
under pressure” have to change the public perceptions, before they can change
the actual terms of life for the people. In other words, they must first restore
Hope.
And there can only be hope, if
there is self-esteem. In other words, people can believe in their future only
if they believe in themselves, individually and collectively. That is why Extremism
tries to break society’s moral, tries to make people lose faith in their future
and in themselves.
If people retain their self-confidence
and their dignity, they will never accept tyrants as “saviors”. So hope and
self-confidence are necessary requirements of public discourse for a Democracy
to survive under pressure.
Lastly, Democracies should
always fight against Extremism and Populism.
Populism destroys public
discourse. Extremism destroys social unity. And often it is difficult to
discern Populism from Extremism. They normally generate each other and feed on
each other.
Sometimes populism penetrates
easier into legitimate political parties. It then degenerates into extremism.
And then extremism of one kind generates extremism of the opposite kind. Soon
enough, society is polarized between different extremisms with all moderate
forces getting squeezed in the middle.
This is a nightmare scenario for
any Democracy. This is why populism has to be resisted in every step of the
way. And extremism has to be confronted in all different shapes and forms.
You cannot restore people’s
belief in Democracy and in themselves unless moderate forces prevail on
extremism.
The problem is that, when you
are fighting against it, you are not fighting with reasonable arguments, you
are fighting with conspiracy theories and perverse perceptions. And when you
are fighting against Extremism, you are not dealing with people’s rationale,
you are dealing with deep rooted fears.
The only way to change wrong
perceptions is to lead by example. When you are asking people to make necessary
sacrifices, you must be the first to make sacrifices. When you ask people to
work harder, make sure that you yourself work harder. When the prevailing
perception is that no “big shot” is ever brought to justice, make sure that
many big shots are brought to justice. When the public perception is that “nothing
can really change”, make sure that you implement changes everybody looked for,
but nobody had thought as possible so far.
And
also, when people are in pain, make sure you feel their pain. Populists try to
capitalize on their pain. Extremists try to exacerbate their pain. You have to
make sure everybody understands that you feel their pain, you are trying to
relieve it and to ameliorate it.
At
every moment, people have to know the Truth. Give it to them undisguised! But
also make sure that you give them some Hope, some realistic Hope, tangible Hope
to endure the hardships and believe that there is some light at the end of the
tunnel.
Populists
and extremists will try to make people disparate.
This
is exactly what we now experience in Greece…
Democracy
has to make sure that people remain hopeful.
For
some time people will not know what to believe in.
You
have to insist of two things: Truth and Hope!
You
can only win people’s confidence eventually, if you keep telling them the truth
and justify their hopes.
So
what is the recipe for a successful democratic response during those times of
extreme pressures?
Sweeping
reforms, constant fight against Extremism and Populism of all kinds, rule by
example, show compassion, change the perverse stereotypes and perceptions,
fight deep rooted fears with Truth and Hope!
Ladies
and gentlemen, dear friends,
During
the last four years, my country, Greece, has been going through an
unprecedented crisis in times of Peace.
We
are going through the sixth year, Mr. President, of a recession during which we
lost about 25% of our GDP. This is truly unprecedented since the days of the
Great Recession, in the 30’s.
We
are currently having a record unemployment of almost 28% for the overall
population and more than 60% for our youth under 25 years of age.
So
if you want to find out something about “Democracy under pressure”, you know
where to look today…
On
the other hand, Greece is not only “unique” in its hardships; it has also
managed some remarkable achievements as well:
We have
accomplished about three quarters of a gigantic fiscal adjustment of about 15%
of our current GDP in just four years. We are achieving a primary surplus hopefully
by the end of this year and, if you disregard our deep and prolonged recession,
we are running the largest cyclically adjusted primary surplus in Europe, as
well as the largest structural surplus.
With
the help of our European partners, we have achieved the largest debt reduction
and the most extensive debt restructuring ever.
We
have lowered our interest rates to one half, compared to the start of the
crisis and our interest payments to one third.
Within
a year, we managed to bring our program on track. And we also managed to change
radically the image of our country worldwide.
A
year ago, many abroad were talking openly about “Grexit”, about a perspective
exit of Greece from the euro.
Now,
everybody talks about “Grecovery”, in other words, everybody expects a recovery
in Greece as early as next year.
To put
it differently, last year we were the “weak link” of the European Union; the
basic source of uncertainty about Europe’s future and the future of our common
currency. Now there is no uncertainty about the Euro any more. And Greece is
not perceived as the “weak link” of Europe. Quite the opposite, if you are to
take into account what is happening in our region in the Eastern Mediterranean,
we are now rather perceived as a stronghold of stability and security. And we
intend to improve on that also.
We
are not out of the woods yet. There are many problems we have to deal with,
ladies and gentlemen.
But
in these last 14 months, we have changed the image of our country abroad, we have
stabilized our country internally, we have implemented sweeping reforms, we have
brought our program back on track, with no compromises as to the extent of our
fiscal adjustment and our structural reforms.
There
is no question that there were serious mistakes at the first stage of our
Program.
There
is no question that austerity alone cannot bring about adjustment effectively.
One also needs growth supporting and growth enhancing balancing measures…
But
now we have put all that in the past: we corrected what could be corrected, and
now we are going through the end of the recession. Once Growth starts and
people feel its benefits, we will move out of the crisis altogether.
According
to most, we will not need a couple of decades, not a couple of generations, but
only 6 years to get back at the pre-crisis levels of our standard of living and
GDP.
So
recovery is “ante portas”. Long term sustainable Growth will soon become our
official exit from the crisis.
These
are good news for Greece. But they are also good news for the European Union.
Because despite everything, all the hardships and some bitter words exchanged
in the process, Greece’s example will eventually stand as a European success, whether
some like it or not like it.
But
this is not time to relax. There is a “blind spot” in all this effort, which is
the critical time after the actual turn of the economy and before the
improvement is felt by the large part of the society. This will be the last
chance for Populism and Extremism to try to derail the whole process. And they will
do- believe me- everything possible to undermine any achievement of this
country...
This
is what makes these next few months crucial. They are not the most difficult;
but they are the most politically sensitive.
We
believe in our People. We believe in the vast potential of this country. We
believe in the potential of United Europe. We came thus far and we know we can
make it to the end.
Democracy
can defeat its enemies. Based on Truth, Hope and Growth.
These
are the powerful antibodies against Extremism and Populism.
Democracy
can make it eventually. Even under extreme pressure.
Democracy
can come out stronger and better under pressure.
I am
confident this will be the lesson learned from Greece in the years to come.
Thank
you very much.
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