Αρθρο του Γ. Χατζημαρκάκη στην New Europe με τίτλο: Eleftherios Venizelos: the reformer from outside the system

Eleftherios Venizelos - The reformer from outside the system

100 years ago, Venizelos reinvented Greece and laid the foundations of a modern state. But the subsequent politicians wasted his heritage. Greece has to start the same reforms over again. What would Venizelos do today?

Veni, vidi, vici – He came, saw the problems and started working on them. In 1910, a Cretan lawyer became Prime minister of Greece. The country was in a similar mess as contemporary Greece: the state was not functioning, the political system and ruling parties were delegitimized within the people, the economy was in dire straits.

Venizelos wanted to fundamentally change politics as they had been run. In a speech he gave in September 1910, he stated that he was not just another Archegos (leader). Rather, he was coming as the “bearer of a new political idea.”

This idea was the ideological ground for his Liberal Party Komma Phileleftheron. During the parliamentary election in December 1910, this party won 300 out of 362 seats in the Greek Parliament. The election was a fundamental renewal of the political class: Only 45 of the newly elected representatives had been members of parliament before.

Venizelos' political agenda as Prime Minister could be summarized as "a program of reconstruction." He based his reform program on two pillars: tax reform and economic productivity. Venizelos reformed the tax system by introducing an income tax to provide the state with a solid financial foundation. He also reformed the agricultural sector, back then one of the most important pillars of the state. Also, Venizelos stopped the inflation of the state apparatus with unqualified people: candidates had to submit to a public inquiry, prior to taking up their functions.

With Venizelos, a new type of politician emerged in Greece: A politician as in the days of the Athenian Democracy, such as Perikles, who was driven by the search of the common good for the state. A politician driven by a new political ethos.

The years 1910-15 are widely considered as a Greek "golden age” of domestic reforms and foreign policy successes. His native Crete for example could get rid of the Ottoman rule and join the motherland. After years of political chaos and stagnation, Venizelos gave Greece a new momentum and spirit of optimism. He united the country behind a common idea.

A contemporary Venizelos would have to tackle exactly the same problems as in 1910: The public sector needs to be curbed. Taxes need to be collected – and reformed in a fair system. Politics need to serve the citizen - and so does economy. As any modern statesman, he would have realized that good politics sets the legislative framework to ensure economy is working properly. And only a working economy provides a state with the means to satisfy citizens' demands.

Greece has a new government now. Some of the reforms Papandreou ushered in are in line with what a Venizelos would have done. We have to be very careful: the path of reforms is narrow and sticky. Some old-style politicians are waiting for their turn to continue the old-style system. They should not be given the opportunity to do so.

Venizelos laid the foundations for modern Greece – but the successive politicians wasted his heritage. A reinvention of Greece has to come again from outside the system. Venizelos was able to bring a new perspective to the country because he was not part of the political establishment at the time. He could see things differently and propose his solutions.