Kostas Karkagiannis on Greece's harmful clientele system

Greece's main problem is its long-standing clientele system, writes Greek journalist Kostas Karkagiannis in the Blog A Europa desalinhada: "Perhaps you're sick of hearing about the Greek crisis, and Europe's leaders are pretty sick of it, too. You no doubt think that Greece's problems are of a financial nature: not competitive enough, huge debts and gigantic deficits, a public sector that works counter-productively. And you're right, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The heart of the problem is the anarchic and poorly functioning judiciary. And then there's a clientele system that is based on political favours, the exchange of time-tested services, corruption and a monstrous bureaucracy. It serves only its own interests, smothering any entrepreneurial spirit and crushing the Greek populace. … In Greece the social contract has been based for at least 35 years on the following principle: the citizen votes for a certain party, and in return the small fry get a job in the public service and the big fish get expensive government contracts."

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