It's an interesting time to be in Greece. The opinions are obviously quite divided about that, but at least we're living history again in this country. And it's not even a myth...
Last night the Prime Minister, Mr. George, announced more cuts and tax hikes for the Greeks and the civil servants. This morning the guy who brews my morning cappuccino in one of the countless coffee bars of Athens, asked me once more if these measures would finally make me decide to leave Greece. He has asked me this before. Like he tries to get me out of Greece. I think, in the spirit of the genuine Greeks, he tries to prevent me from becoming a victim of the system, but if I wasn't so full of confidence about the Greeks real intentions, I'd suspect he is a nationalist trying to get even the legal foreigners out of the country. But he's not. He just doesn't want me to suffer. The good heart.
Nice Job Cover Up
Nevertheless, Greece is struggling to recover from the blow it got of decades of built up financial tension, nicely covered up by all consecutive ruling parties. You must say they've all done a nice job in postponing the misery to the very last moment. Although everybody in Greece knew about the malpractices of practically every official, and business people, it still was a shock when it hit.
The power is to the youth. That is: the younger generations. The older Greeks simply have no idea nor reference how to competitively rule businesses or the country. Their world consists of bribes, under the table payments, double agenda's and an extremely low daring capability to innovate, invest or move forward. Business has been done based on private agreements, nothing written down and accordingly works the system of the public offices. As about half the country seems to be a civil servant, which means in most cases that they'll be employed for life, it has always been a highly popular job. With each changing ruling party, friends and family of the party leaders used their connections to become civil servant. As no one gets fired, no positions were replaced, just overpopulated. There are thousands of stories about the civil servants, that all sound the same: they don't work (if they show up at all) and if you want to get something done, you pay under the table. It is an inefficient organism, that's for sure.
Innovation Generation
The generation of people between 20 and 40, has experienced a lot more of how things could be in the world and as such in Greece. They studied abroad, think about innovation, dream about a greener world, better career prospective, honest rewards for their knowledge and modernizing the way everything is being ran in this country. However, the elder don't allow them to perform. The elder know everything better. Greeks have by nature the pride that they know things better, which is not bad, as they're pretty intelligent people who actually know about history, the past and use this knowledge in their thinking, but the old Greeks are not daring. They are used to protect what they have, perhaps a result of the dictatorship that ruled until mid-seventies and urbanization of Athens which brought half the country in one city, so you have to 'fight for your right' to have your space.
Whatever and however. The older Greeks have none to little vision, have no creativity, are paralyzing almost all progress the country should need and whoever of them works as civil servant, doctor, lawyer or tax inspector is quite likely to be corrupt and makes it almost impossible for entrepreneurs to operate and for citizens to enjoy life.
Probably not that I hit the nail on the head here, as there are too many different reasons how things could improve, but I definitely feel it's time the younger generations and the voices of people who are looking further than just Greece or their own front porch are being heard.
