After all, what is happening to our democracy? Is he suffering or excelling? The government is trying to convince of the latter. He flags this year’s “Economist” Democracy Index and insists that the embarrassing resolution of the European Parliament passed neither more nor less because… the world is evil and jealous of us.
Does the “Economist” say the opposite of the European Parliament? Not at all! It just counts other things, e.g. the quality of elections, the functioning of government, civil liberties, political culture and the participation of citizens in political matters. And here with the postal vote, with consecutive polls and with the citizens in the streets on many tragic occasions, such as Tempi, our rating is rising. Not only does he not say the opposite in fact, but he also shares the concern about known issues: In the paragraph concerning Greece we read that in the country there is freedom of expression, but “there is evidence that journalists are not completely free to investigate some issues”, they are threatened with criminal penalties and there is censorship on matters relating to the Police, the Army and the Church.
This is what the “Economist” says. For the record, last year he also talked about the wiretapping and, as you know, not a lot of light has been shed yet, nor has the knife reached the bone.
The Prime Minister then says that the final judge of the rule of law in Greece is the report on the rule of law of the European Commission.
So let’s see what the Commission says. There is progress, but: There are still great challenges in Justice, especially during the award period. The feeling of corruption in the State remains widespread. The problem of threats and attacks against journalists remains. The state refuses to comply with the Ombudsman’s recommendations more often than in previous years. The new law, which was passed in the wake of the wiretapping scandal, which is still being investigated, has been criticized by legal experts, academics and independent authorities for limiting the powers of the Anti-Corruption Commission and limited information to those under surveillance.
This is what the final arbiter of our rule of law, according to the Prime Minister, says among other things.
These reports are boring reading. Those who invoke them probably also bet there. Boring, but useful.
#Economist
