Two hundred years after the revolution of 1821, our country is once again entering into conditions of uncertainty and insecurity similar to those that prevailed during the long submission to the Ottomans. The new coronavirus not only hinders the organisation of anniversary events which require large public participation, but also undermines the psychology of the citizens and their financial stability because of the uncertainty about how much longer the pandemic is going to last. However, just as during the independence struggle we had the obligation to fight, taking into account all the details of the events that ocurred on the battlefields, so in the current conditions we have the obligation to evaluate all the data available, so that we can minimise the individual and societal risks from the coronavirus and its many mutations. Especially we, Maniots, descendants of the heroic warriors of that period, we have the obligation to show the same effectiveness as they did in fighting all kinds of dangers, under the present conditions.

    The pandemic and the many measures undertaken for the public’s health protection, have caused a severe slow down in economic activities, thus creating large government deficits. Responding to its social mission, the state, despite the reduction of its revenues due to the sharp reduction of economic activity, has tried to provide subsidies to companies and large groups of citizens, so that, as much as possible, businesses and employment are kept at pre-pandemic levels. This complex landscape, due to the uncertainty in the evolution of the pandemic, creates the need for elaborate prohibitive measures for the present as well as the foreseeable future. This need is becoming even more urgent because our country had already been in a bad debt situation even at the beginning of the pandemic a year ago. The increase of the public debt to twice the gross national product (GNP), in combination with the  repayment plan of reduced installments only until 2032, require measures based on foresight, sound decisions regarding the distribution of subsidies and maintaining significant monetary stocks in order to deal with unforeseen situations. The risks of a new financial crisis after the pandemic remain high.

   In order to address all these risks, our partners in the European Union have implemented different strategies. For example, in Italy there was a government crisis due to its policy of diverting a significant part of the money owed to the Recovery Fund towards repaying the country's high debt (it must be mentioned that their debt is much lower than ours…), while in Great Britain the super-conservative government decided to pay the government deficit, which was created by implementing measures to support those affected by the economic crisis, by taxing the rich! Our government has decided that the revenue from the Recovery Fund be directed to projects and actions that aim to modernise the development of the economy in order to, through the attraction of private investment, achieve high economic growth rates. This approach was chosen because it is believed that it will lead to increased government revenue, thus making it possible to meet our high debt obligations without imposing new taxation.

   Of course, the efficiency of all measures is judged by positive results, which, however, cannot be foreseen. This effectiveness can be achieved through the thorough adherence to the implementation design in the stages of development and through the strict observance of intermediate deadlines. We will be able to judge the effectiveness of our country’s program after its final approval, which is expected in the coming months. Until then, however, we have an obligation to draw attention to the long-existing tendency for fraud and corruption that prevails in several strata of the Greek society, both in the private and in the public sector. We have already observed this tendency even at the present preliminary stage of implementation: there have been twice as many applicants for subsidies as those entitled! This makes us suspect that there has been long-term concealment of assets and tax evasion.

   Let us hope that the mechanisms for allocating the Recovery Fund resources aimed at overcoming the effects of the pandemic and advancing our economy, will be strengthened by the appropriate measures to eliminate wide-spread corruption. The ordinary citizens should follow these developments, which so far have been directly related to the preservation of the positive measures already taken by the government. 

                                                                                                           THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The coronavirus pandemic has temporarily put a stop to the economic development of almost every country in the world. This stagnation has created many debts, and measures have to be taken to make up for the losses. The European Union, after difficult negotiations, has decided to make financial loans available to its member states. Most of these loans will not be paid back by the states that will receive them, in order to thus help close the growth gap that has been created. One of the most notable terms of these financial allocations is their absorption by each member state over a predetermined, relatively short, period of time. If funds are not spent within that strict time frame, non-absorbed funding will be withdrawn and redistributed to other member states that have exhausted their allocated funds. This strict condition brings to mind the phrase: “time is money”, first used by Benjamin Franklin in 1748.

   The question is whether the organisation of the Greek state, and especially those related to the design, planning and execution of public works, have the necessary capability to comply with the full and effective absorption of funding, according to the tightly defined terms set by the EU. Unfortunately, the answer to this question, based on our experience so far, is negative. However, this does not mean that, if new administrative and managerial approaches are implemented and if strict conditions are set in time at each stage of development, it is impossible to overcome this negativity. We will list below some of these conditions:

   1) At the top level, the governance of our country so far creates confidence in the intentions for change for the better. But intentions are not enough, if they are not accompanied by the right leaders who will implement them. These leaders must not only believe in these intentions, but also have the required managerial ability. Two actions taken so far give us hope: first, the preparation of the plan of compatibility with the conditions set by the Recovery Plan, which was submitted to and was approved by the Summit, and second, the selection of a Minister with recognised managerial ability, who will be responsible for the implementation of the projects.

   2) The next phase, i.e. the selection of projects to be implemented, has to be based objectively on real needs, so that the best future prospects for our country can be realised. The degree of achievement of the selected objectives will show in the coming years if this phase was successful. The technocratic staff that will be selected to draw up coherent and realistic programs of projects, in addition to the necessary technical knowledge, should also steadfastly believe in the goals set by the legislative and executive authorities.

   3) It seems that the next stages, i.e., the many phases of completion of several small and large projects, will be met with the big obstacles that have been plaguing the Greek public administration for a long time. These obstacles (parasitism, private interest transactions, distancing from the common public good and much more) have been recorded many times, but so far have only been addressed to a very limited extent. In general, obstacles of this kind that prevail in our country are very difficult to deal with effectively through the usual ways that have been attempted so far. An intelligent plan for dealing with these kinds of obstacles was designed in the mid-2000s in regards to major highway construction projects. Unfortunately it has yielded limited results due to the ensuing ten-year economic crisis and also due to the change in mentality of the following administration. This approach was reflected in the relatively transparent terms of the tender and the contracts that followed. Quality construction was ensured through the provision for long-term maintenance by the manufacturer at no additional public expense, but mainly through the creation of competing interests between contractors and lenders.

   4) It has been established, for several years now, that the effective treatment of the entrenched unhealthy conditions in the public administration can only happen through radical institutional reforms. The incompatibility between being a Member of Parliament and a Minister and the introduction of an electoral system similar to the one in Germany (single-member constituencies for the election of half of the Members and a list for the other half) could be two of the most substantial initial reforms. Such changes, which separate the legislative from the executive power, lead to the democratisation of the functioning of the parties, link MP’s more closely to their constituencies, and can serve as a form of policy-modelling with a view to assimilating and operating beneficially in the overall political community.

   The average citizen, the one who suffers from the ills of the above-mentioned public administration, remembers the huge funding provided to our country in the forty years since its accession to the European Union and can, without making detailed calculations, see the disproportionately small beneficial effects on the economy, society and the natural environment. For this reason, he/she wishes and hopes that this new, perhaps last, opportunity will bring fruit.    We, the people of Mani, hope that many of our compatriots, who hold high-level positions at all levels of the state administration and regional self-government, will not forget their place of origin and, finally, will make sure that Mani will get its share of the projects that is entitled to from this latest financial package