PRACTICAL EXPRESSION OF OUR IDEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

In the main article of a previous issue of “Maniot Solidarity”, we presented the ideological framework that defines our newspaper, its objectives and aspirations for Mani, as condensed in its title. We deem it appropriate, as a follow-up, to specify how our ideological framework is promoted through research and, ultimately, through the selection and layout of content on specific pages of our newspaper. The greatest difficulty in the research process is information overload, which ultimately becomes a problem because, in addition to preventing the readers from approaching the substance of the material selected for publication, it also hinders them from critically selecting the most useful elements to improve their intellectual orientation and ideological background. Through this information overload, we attempt to document issues related to the ideological orientation and goals of our newspaper, and subsequently to clear them from any kind of bias in presentation and influencing opinions, so that we can delve into their true essence.

We have designed the layout of content in such a way as to refer to the entire chronological spectrum of Mani from the beginning to modern day. We attempt to harmoniously relate historical events of the past to the current needs of our area and its future prospects. We attempt to keep the layout of our material the same for every issue. More specifically, this layout is presented below:

On page 2, aspects of the heroic past of our region are presented, from the emergence of the geographical term “Mani” to our time. The search for content is difficult, since the needed material is scattered in many publications, most of which has not yet been digitised. In order to write the articles presented, on-site visits to libraries in Athens are required, as it is in the Greek capital where the sources are located. Given the strong differentiation of the historical course of the individual regions of Mani (Inner Mani, Outer Mani, Lower Mani, Bardounia, as initially presented by the first Maniot scholar Nikitas Nifakis, and other smaller geographical divisions), we considered it appropriate to collect and present this information on page 10.

Having thoroughly understood Adamantios Korais’^[1] view that the educational upgrade of the Greeks should precede the Revolution of 1821 (concern that was surpassed by the impetuosity created by the desire for freedom of the Greek people), and believing in the need for continuous effort and improvement in the educational sector, we have reserved page 3 for the publication of articles on education and culture. Having accepted the anxiety for the rise of the cultural level in Mani, as expressed by Nikitas Nifakis due to his impending death (1818), we have decided to permanently place his “Farewell Address” quatrain on the top right-hand corner of page 3, as a timeless message to the youth of Mani.

Historians do not agree on who produces historical events: peoples, or individuals?  We are not in a position to take sides for or against either view. However, we consider it our duty, besides the intense promotion of achievements by Maniots as a whole to publish on page 4 the permanent column Ονομάτων Επίσκεψις, which presents the life and works of personalities from the intellectual and scientific worlds who excelled in their respective fields of activity.

In pages 6 and 7, we publish topics concerning the development of our region, mainly the technical studies and public works necessary to support the explosive increase in private investments in our area in recent decades. In these articles, we attempt to clear the news from the deliberately exaggerated projections of micro-political expediency. Politicians usually promote these projects through multiple references to the same work during its evolutionary phase; we attempt to disconnect the absorption of credits from the efficiency of the project as it really appears on the ground, and we do not avoid referring to the negative consequences on the final result caused by recapitulative tables and price revisions.

News from modern life in Mani is featured on pages 1, page 9 and page 8 with the presentation of local business activities (Επιχειρηματικές Δραστηριότητες) and on pages 11 and 12 with the presentation of Αnnouncements – Births, Marriages, Obituaries – (Κοινωνικά Γεγονότα).

The main article on page 1 reflects the general ideological framework of our association “Maniot Solidarity” for our region, as it relates to current political and social events. The translation of the main article into English and the presentation of the translation on page 8 is our conscientious obligation to the second and third generation Maniots, who might have difficulties with written Greek, as well as to foreign philo-Maniots. In a similar context, the signed articles presented on page 5, and often also on page 12, which, starting from critical socio-political events, also affect our area.

The layout of our newspaper, apart from the desire to meet the expectations of the contemporary Maniots and philo-Maniots, aims to create a legacy for future generations. We believe that our attempt to portray the character of the region in a coherent way can also function like seeds that condense the characteristics of plants for future germination.

                                                                                                                                       THE EDITORIAL BOARD

[1] Greek scholar and humanist (1748-1833)

This issue marks 25 years since April 1999, when the first issue of this newspaper was published. The publication did not emerge randomly nor was it motivated by financial considerations and ambitions. It was the product of emotional maturity. A maturity that was acquired in the ten-year journey since the concept of “solidarity” on a social and political level appeared in an organised way in the Mani region. Solidarity was the focus of the management model implemented at the local government in the Neochori and Stoupa areas of Western Mani during the 1990s by the group, coordinated by its founder. Solidarity was also the focal point of the program in which the group participated in the local elections of 1998 in the then municipality of Leuktro, garnering one-third of the electorate’s vote.

A few months after the local elections of 1998, the group considered the conditions to be ripe for the message of solidarity, with all the emotional background that accompanies it, to be highlighted through a publication by the association Aλληλεγγύη (Solidarity), which was established then. The high-quality concept of solidarity has guided us in composing the content presented in the 300 issues of our newspaper, continuously printed over the past 300 months. This concept has also guided the publication of six books that showcase the characteristics of our region (“Travel Routes in Mani”, volumes A and B, “Pages from the History of Mani”, volumes A and B, “Mani in Foreign-language Books of the 17^th-19^th Centuries” and “The Timeless Evolution of Large Areas of Mani”) as well as the content of the highly visited website www.maniatiki.gr that we created.

During these 300 months, the journey has not been smooth. Much “turbulance” was created. Some members of the group wanted to use the newspaper as a means to “conquer” the local government of the area, in the name of promoting supposedly ideological ideas, but in reality promoting personal ambitions. Our insistence on promoting the concept of solidarity through the newspaper’s publications, a concept that on a practical level touches the entire population of our region and is in complete harmony with its widespread application to friends and non-friends alike, was accompanied by conflicts, bitterness and departures. Persisting in keeping our principles in the social sphere, we strengthened our ties with those members who endured the difficult times that we faced during this long journey. Relying on these people, we insist on its continuation, as long as the trust of those friends in our ideas allows us to cover the costs of frugal management and as long as our intellectual powers allow us to transform these ideas into analyses, proposals and interventions guided by Maniot and, more generally, social solidarity. We believe that the concept of solidarity, when applied according to its semantic background, allows neither narrow-minded perceptions nor subjective motives. Such perceptions and motives inevitably lead to micro-political management, and inability to promote broad social goals. This kind of management may, in the course of its implementation, provide selfish satisfaction, but ultimately leads not only to social deadlocks but also to personal impasses.

Slowly but steadily, we gained the trust of a large group of consciencious Maniots and philo-Maniots who also agree with the non-selfish goals for our area contained in the newspaper’s publications. With this group of fellow citizens, we aim to continue communicating through the texts that appear in the columns of this newspaper and our website. This group represents the consciencious Maniots – those who, apart from their individual and family pursuits, feel that Mani is our common home and seek, actively and participatively, to improve the quality of life in our region and strengthen solidarity among our fellow citizens. Whether our fellow citizens who think in this way constitute a majority, or when this will be the case, the final conclusion may be drawn from many sociological factors. However, it is certain that vertical divisions, with well-concealed individual benefits, with the objective of preying on local power, will lead us to increasingly insurmountable impasses, ultimately causing the general deterioration of the quality of life and the fragmentation of social cohesion in our area. This is not just a sociological conclusion; it has been confirmed many times and recorded in the history of our region. We only need to realise it and to bring it to the current data in order to formulate a safe course of action and meet the demands of this critical period for the country and our region.   

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

POLITICAL TIME AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF NATIONS AND SPECIFIC REGIONS

Time is continuous. We humans segment it so that we can regulate issues that concern us, starting from the length of our own lives and encompassing almost all matters related to life, including our own, that of our relatives, our nation, and even humanity. Within these matters, political time plays a crucial role in the progress of societies. This is because the political system directing each society leads it to progress or to stagnate, depending on how it approaches political time. Political time is a dynamic entity, and the evaluation of the events of each period depends on their impact on future periods. Since the dynamics of the evolution of modern societies are rapid and uncertain, political time becomes very dense, requiring political planning with a much greater time depth. Otherwise, the resulting developments will not be controllable.

In democratic systems where governments are elected through universal suffrage, politicians are authorised to make decisions with a long-term perspective to function in an international reality that evolves very rapidly. Given that political time for producing stable and fruitful results for critical issues, such as, for example, promoting national goals at the central level or ensuring continuous progress and prosperity at the local level, is much longer than the terms of elected representatives, a substantial conflict arises between the broad and narrow views of political time. Unfortunately, citizens, who are called upon to renew or terminate the terms of elected representatives through universal suffrage, are, to a large extent, influenced by the narrow view of political time. They evaluate politicians based on the short-term impacts of these decisions, hindering politicians from shaping their policies with a broad time perspective. Overcoming this opposition can only be achieved through persuasive, analytical, and well-documented arguments. This approach, in conjunction with the overall acceptance climate of those in power at the central or local level, can influence the conscience of citizens, leading them to directly correlate the immediate and individually beneficial with the long-term and generalised social result. This is a challenging endeavour for politicians, given that its failure leads to election losses, and few dare to undertake it. Since the preceding analysis includes many theoretical considerations and general concepts, I will attempt to make it more understandable with two examples, one at the central and one at the local level. In these examples, the negative effects of the narrow view of political time during the critical decision-making period have manifested and been documented by the citizens.

1. Those among us who are older remember the first example, at the central level. It was the pension reform attempted by the Simitis government in 2001, aiming to maintain the ability of pension funds to provide pensions for their members over the next two decades. The party trade unionists and the great majority of the party’s politicians organised strong protests, and the bill was withdrawn. The political pressure led to the loss of power by the party in the subsequent elections, the weakening of trade unions, and eventually economic bankruptcy and internal devaluation of the incomes of all workers through drastic cuts imposed by the agreements of understanding (μνημόνια).

• Τhe second example, at the local level, dates back to 1998, when local government was redesigned with the abolition of Communities and the creation of Municipalities. In our area, the proposal to revive the old municipalities (which in Western Mani used to be Avia, Kardamyli and Lefktro) faced strong political opposition, because of the exclusion of certain communities. During the crucial preparatory period, the Regional Councils that were established cut off the communities of Verga and Mikri Mantineia, despite the opposition of the majority of the representatives of these two communities. In order to overcome these obstacles, it was proposed that the seat of the new municipality of Avia should not be Kampos (as it used to be), but Verga, a proposal that would have been universally accepted by the citizens of these two communities. However, the Regional Council of Kampos did not even want to discuss the proposal… The results, 25 years later, are the abolishment of the municipality of Avia with Kampos as its seat, the underrepresentation of Verga in the city of Kalamata, and the struggle for population numbers in the newly-created municipality of Western Mani.

From these examples, it is evident that the effectiveness of long-term management of political time is crucial both for state and local affairs.

                                                                                                                                       THE EDITORIAL BOARD

POLITICAL TIME AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF NATIONS AND SPECIFIC REGIONS

Time is continuous. We humans segment it so that we can regulate issues that concern us, starting from the length of our own lives and encompassing almost all matters related to life, including our own, that of our relatives, our nation, and even humanity. Within these matters, political time plays a crucial role in the progress of societies. This is because the political system directing each society leads it to progress or to stagnate, depending on how it approaches political time. Political time is a dynamic entity, and the evaluation of the events of each period depends on their impact on future periods. Since the dynamics of the evolution of modern societies are rapid and uncertain, political time becomes very dense, requiring political planning with a much greater time depth. Otherwise, the resulting developments will not be controllable.

In democratic systems where governments are elected through universal suffrage, politicians are authorised to make decisions with a long-term perspective to function in an international reality that evolves very rapidly. Given that political time for producing stable and fruitful results for critical issues, such as, for example, promoting national goals at the central level or ensuring continuous progress and prosperity at the local level, is much longer than the terms of elected representatives, a substantial conflict arises between the broad and narrow views of political time. Unfortunately, citizens, who are called upon to renew or terminate the terms of elected representatives through universal suffrage, are, to a large extent, influenced by the narrow view of political time. They evaluate politicians based on the short-term impacts of these decisions, hindering politicians from shaping their policies with a broad time perspective. Overcoming this opposition can only be achieved through persuasive, analytical, and well-documented arguments. This approach, in conjunction with the overall acceptance climate of those in power at the central or local level, can influence the conscience of citizens, leading them to directly correlate the immediate and individually beneficial with the long-term and generalised social result. This is a challenging endeavour for politicians, given that its failure leads to election losses, and few dare to undertake it. Since the preceding analysis includes many theoretical considerations and general concepts, I will attempt to make it more understandable with two examples, one at the central and one at the local level. In these examples, the negative effects of the narrow view of political time during the critical decision-making period have manifested and been documented by the citizens.

1. Those among us who are older remember the first example, at the central level. It was the pension reform attempted by the Simitis government in 2001, aiming to maintain the ability of pension funds to provide pensions for their members over the next two decades. The party trade unionists and the great majority of the party’s politicians organised strong protests, and the bill was withdrawn. The political pressure led to the loss of power by the party in the subsequent elections, the weakening of trade unions, and eventually economic bankruptcy and internal devaluation of the incomes of all workers through drastic cuts imposed by the agreements of understanding (μνημόνια).

• Τhe second example, at the local level, dates back to 1998, when local government was redesigned with the abolition of Communities and the creation of Municipalities. In our area, the proposal to revive the old municipalities (which in Western Mani used to be Avia, Kardamyli and Lefktro) faced strong political opposition, because of the exclusion of certain communities. During the crucial preparatory period, the Regional Councils that were established cut off the communities of Verga and Mikri Mantineia, despite the opposition of the majority of the representatives of these two communities. In order to overcome these obstacles, it was proposed that the seat of the new municipality of Avia should not be Kampos (as it used to be), but Verga, a proposal that would have been universally accepted by the citizens of these two communities. However, the Regional Council of Kampos did not even want to discuss the proposal… The results, 25 years later, are the abolishment of the municipality of Avia with Kampos as its seat, the underrepresentation of Verga in the city of Kalamata, and the struggle for population numbers in the newly-created municipality of Western Mani.

From these examples, it is evident that the effectiveness of long-term management of political time is crucial both for state and local affairs.

                                                                                                                                        THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Every decade or so, a generalised journalistic interest in the natural and cultural environment of Mani returns. The timing is generally associated with rich, environmental projects funded by European resources. Usually, the new study largely duplicates the previous one, yet it is paid for by the new funding! The resulting proposals are based on a free approach to the natural and cultural environment, but with little consideration of the people who live and operate in the area. It goes without saying that the reactions, from almost all the residents and land owners are strong, and these studies only go as far as repaying the costs of their preparation…  Having followed the evolution of this issue for over three decades, we suspect that the recent publications are related to the studies financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund for rezoning the settlements of Greece, prioritising many settlements in Mani. Our newspaper MANIOT SOLIDARITY, in its almost 25 years of publication, has never opposed measures for the qualitative upgrading of the region, as long as this upgrading is not fragmentary and as long as it is accompanied by measures of an integrated nature, with guaranteed funding and a clear timing of implementation. It goes without saying that this view is also valid in the present case. It is therefore appropriate to give a brief presentation of this issue below, which is crucial for the region and has been brought back into the news.

The residential area of Mani, for the greater part of its extent, has been created by the evolution of the first patriarchal family settlements, usually in neighbouring natural outcrops of the natural area. With the passing of different generations, the originally constructed houses turned into small group settlements, usually at short distances from each other. With particular social, political and environmental sensitivity, Antonis Tritsis, Environment Minister in 1982, considered it necessary to create the possibility for residential development of the country’s settlements that were not classified as traditional or coastal settlements. This possibility included many settlements in Mani. However, discrepancies from the lack of implementation or multiple distortions of the original legislation were caused mainly by political expediency for the exploitation of the euphoria of the owners whose properties increased in value. Discrepancies were also caused by the parasitic operation of the network of services offered to the land owners during the procedures leading up to the sale of their land for residential use or for the construction of buildings in the new residential zone bordering the “stagnant” settlements.

From the brief description above, it is obvious that, for the qualitative upgrading of the new residential area of many settlements of Mani, the removal of the deviations or distortions of the original regulations is required. This does not mean abolishing the residential status, because this would violate the constitutional guarantee of property, and it would put land owners who have used it for residential purposes on an unequal footing with those who would exercise this right in the future. But it does mean that the state is obliged to implement public works that it has so far failed to prioritise and finance. One of the best of these technical public works is a form of urban planning of the new residential area, as envisaged by the original 1982 legislation. Another good example is the design and implementation of all necessary infrastructure projects providing for residential densities such as those that have arisen in our area. A form of “cleansing” of the entire matrix of groups of persons involved in the construction system of this residential zone would also be beneficial.

We believe that Maniots, like most citizens who have agricultural roots and an experiential relationship with the natural environment, will stand in solidarity with government decisions that will move towards an integrated quality upgrade, even with their own participation in land and money. However, such decisions must follow the ancient saying of the Oracle of Delphi: he who creates a problem has an obligation to fix it. In other words, the political system, responsible during the 1980s for the distortions of the original legislative regulation of the “stagnant” settlements and the tacit tolerance of all its deviations in order to enjoy the political euphoria of the benefitted citizens during all electoral procedures, has an obligation with its current political expression to make the necessary decisions of restoration which we discussed above. In this way, the political system will be rewarded by the citizens, not only for the qualitative restoration of the residential area, but also for the manifestation of the courage that political ethics requires as a necessary condition for the progress and prosperity of the states and their citizens.

                                                                                                    THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The main advantage of municipal government, particularly at the local level, is the ability of citizens to have direct access to the results produced by their elected representatives during their term of office. Even in large cities, despite their high building density and many districts, the evaluation of results can be very reliable. However, visibility of actions and assessment of the municipal government’s work is easier in rural areas with a small-scale urban fabric, such as Mani. If we accept that there are two major themes that constitute the main οbjectives of local government, i.e., a) quality of life and b) natural environment, then in the urban municipalities, due to the high density of population, the quality of life should be the first priority, while rural municipalities, due to their large territorial area, should prioritise the natural environment. The common rule, in order to achieve efficiency in both cases, is the obligation to apply the following basic economic rule: “maximising the return on the financial resources allocated at the lowest possible cost”.

At each level of operation of the elected bodies, and especially at the leadership levels, we need to examine the incentives that prompted elected officials to participate in the local government. It is certain that if the real cause of this impulse is the sincere desire to offer social work and provided, of course, that this desire is combined with competence acquired through studies and/or professional experience, the results will be visible and measurable, so that they can be recognised by any bona fide observer. Usually, however, human passions, such as the thirst for glory and money, are the main motives for participating in the local government. Although the pursuit of glory, in its pure form, is a legitimate ambition for humans, it often loses its purity under the strong pressure to materialise and it leads to uncontrollable actions. Becoming rich through compensation provided by a municipal government to its elected officials is impossible. Municipal politicians, however, can become rich through the many decision-making powers granted to them by the legislative framework and the lax internal control mechanisms for these decisions. It is perhaps no coincidence that in practice the decisions of local government bodies are not subject to effective social scrutiny by the public. Summarising the preceding thoughts, we conclude that only the existence of a conscious willingness for social contribution through municipal government institutions can provide positive results for the society. The reward for local politicians should not be personal enrichment, but rather the satisfaction of conscienciously performing one’s duties, which sometimes can also bring glory to some extent. 

One way of measuring results in rural municipalities is by observing improvements in the physical environment (municipal roads and squares, rural roads, municipal buildings and monuments, harbours). Their maintenance is financed annually from the state budget and requires coordinated action, based on the principle of “maximising results at the lowest cost”, in order to implement the necessary projects in an efficient manner. A prerequisite for the completion of these works is the full use of human resources within the scope of their duties and, above all, the capability of the elected politicians to plan and coordinate all the necessary phases from preparation to completion.

Another way of measuring results in rural municipalities is by observing improvements in the areas related to quality of life (water supply, drainage, sewage, electricity, cleaniness of municipal spaces, solid household waste). Daily local government actions in these areas (particularly in those areas that are financed directly by the users of these services) are easily observable, and conclusions about the effectiveness of these services and the coordinative capacity of the elected politicians can be drawn easily. It should be noted that for the “quality of life” projects a significant amount of funding is required, and that the search for funding from the central government is the primary responsibility of the municipal authorities, both unilateral and collective.

We hope that in the upcoming municipal elections the voters will consider the thoughts developed in this editorial and choose those candidates who will be able to create maximum efficiency for the benefit of our society.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

From the encyclopedia:  Local Government: a) administration without dependence, b) institution that organises the administration of a region by representatives of local communities or a section of a special public organisation without substantial involvement of the state.In the old days, in the era of the dominance of the “katharevousa”,[1] when there was a complete mismatch between a name and its meanings in practice, the expression “κατ’ εὐφημισμόν” was used. This is how local government works in practice, i.e., in complete dependence on the goals of the state administration and with the aim of promoting those matters which it does not wish or does not have the ability to implement. In addition to promoting the persons it wishes to appoint to leading positions in local government institutions, the central government also controls the rates of grants through which the powers delegated to local government can be promoted to a minimum extent. In short, in our everyday language, local government is the step child (= child of inferior status who helps with the chores) of the state administration. Nevertheless, this institutional expression has a comparative advantage: it is in close proximity to the citizens and thus the possibilities of monitoring the events unfolding with, and by, the actions of its representatives, as well as to some extent the possibilities of intervention, are easier. The reflection that preceded is a prelude to a basic review οf the local government period that will end with next October’s elections, which will highlight the people who will play a leading role in the next five-year local government period. We will record our observations below.

Contributing to the inefficiency of the institution of local government is the total absence of any relevant reference to the country’s Constitution. If such a reference existed, it could mitigate the complete fluidity regarding the main characteristics of the institution. Each state government can decide, through its own legislation, on the number of elected officials, on the duration of the municipal government periods, on the electoral system, on the powers of their unilateral and collective bodies, but also on the bulk of their financial resources, which come from the state budget and are distributed through grants. As an extension of this, the government at the time decided that the 2019 local government elections would be held under a proportional representation electoral system even though the general political climate was extremely conflicting, the ambitions of the leaders in the local government groups were unrestrained and, consequently, decision-making by the collective bodies was highly problematic. Some corrective legislative interventions by the next government, but mainly the holding of meetings of the collective bodies by teleconferencing, balanced to a certain extent the chaos that had been created. The newest legislation, through which the municipal elections of next October will be held, brought back the pre-existing electoral system, which strengthened the majority combination and provided it with an enhanced majority in the collective bodies, but it also eliminated one of the few positive provisions of the previous electoral system: the election of members of the Municipal Communities with separate ballots and their mandatory financial support from the municipal budget for the execution of small maintenance projects of the local infrastructure. The abolition of this arrangement fully confirms the aforementioned trend towards full control of local government by the central administration.

In our region, Mani, the strong negative effects of the electoral system of the simple proportional representation were also felt and created dissonance. In the municipality of Western Mani in particular, the mayor had to cooperate with two minority municipal groups in order for the institution to function properly. Two favourable circumstances, as the “deus ex machina” of the ancient Greek tragedies, balanced to a certain extent the inability to produce work, even the maintenance of critical municipal infrastructure, by the local governments of our region. We are referring to: a) the assignment of the Ministry of Interior to our compatriot politician who, due to the need to restore public infrastructure from the wildfires of 2020 and 2021 in Laconia, financed Eastern Mani with large sums of money and b) the election of our compatriot to the position of Regional Governor who, when he was given the legal opportunity, tried to counteract the permanent marginalisation of Mani in the financing of public infrastructure projects. A great opportunity for qualitative and quantitative upgrading of the territorial area of Mani, through the EU-funded program “Integrated Spatial Investments” was underutilised. Delayed or even faulty drafting of technical studies for necessary public projects, underfunding of private investments in the tourism sector, emphasis on one-time cultural actions, or in some cases with directed beneficiaries, minimise the footprint on the Mani area of this significant amount of funding which, unfortunately, is not repeatable.

It seems that in our region the lessons of the past are reflected when they collide with personal ambitions. These lessons, which have arisen from objective and subjective reasons (small population, great distance from decision-making centres, individualistic views of things, reduced willingness of social contribution, etc.), for the rational thinkers, lead to self-evident tendencies towards universal cooperation, which is the only way to produce improved results. It seems, in the first ten days of August, as this text is being written, that instead of joint activities in view of the October municipal elections, a more intense division will emerge. It seems that there is a complete ignorance of the risk of even greater degradation of the area even though the external economic conditions, due to the quality of the geographic and climatic environment, are favourable…

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

[1] archaic official language used by the Greek state until 1976 when it was replaced by “dimotiki” (everyday colloquial language)

Productivity expresses how efficiently and effectively resources (capital, labour, entrepreneurship, technology) are used to produce goods and services. This definition applies both at a) the level of business-household and b) the level of business sectors or government entities. At the business-household level, productivity is easy to establish, because effective management is immediately ascertainable and can be determined by simple observation. At the sectoral level, the observations are relatively more difficult to establish, but again, through the multi-information that is characteristic of our times, reliable findings can be made.

At the third and last level, the state level, productivity results from effective management in the areas of state activity (mainly public finance, defence and security, public health and public education). At this level, the initial findings are relatively easy, as they are derived from the opinion of the direct beneficiaries, i.e., the citizens, through the electoral process. However, at this level, because of its large size, the many conflicting or hidden interests and the many methods of deception that can be deployed, it is often the case that the data is false and misleading and does not correspond to real facts. The state of bankruptcy Greece found itself in over the past decade is irrefutable proof of this. The main cause of the apparent and false prosperity, as it was finally revealed, was not the increased productivity of the state administration, but the concealment and the methodical downplaying of the country’s extensive borrowing and its consequences on the finances of its citizens.

It can be seen, from the course of public finances especially in the last five years, that state administrations and the general management of the national economy are going through an honest and effective phase, with productivity being the compass for the formulation of individual policy proposals in the management of all sectors. This is a comforting fact that can lead to a first conclusion that for the general economic development of the country, the content of the concept of “productivity” could be a dominant factor in the sphere of economic activity at the family and business level; from these two levels it can then be passed on in a generalized form to the third level, the state development priorities and the legislative regulations that will give them elements of timelessness.

As we attempt a more specific approach to the sensitive economic data of the country, our attention focuses on the negative trade balance and the soaring trade deficit recorded in 2022, which climbed to a 14-year record level, despite the impressive rise in exports, which were nevertheless outstripped by imports. A brief look at these figures leads to the conclusion that there is indeed an improvement in the productivity of the goods manufactured in the country, as reflected by the significant increase in exports, but the higher increase in the value of imported goods is a warning bell of the risk of creating a permanent economic imbalance. These findings, in the final analysis, prove that our country is lagging behind in the industrial sector, especially in the field of processing raw materials through vertical integration of production up to the final product to be used. By improving productivity in the industrial sector in this way, many of the imported products can be substituted by domestically produced ones, thus improvinge   the trade balance. Certainly, the promotion of this objective will need to be based on the improvement of productivity (labour, capital, entrepreneurship, technological applications) and its positive consequences will be reflected in employment, return on capital and even an increase in government revenues, which will be available for broader social purposes.

The search for a living model that had shaped high productivity at the first level (family-microenterprise) leads to the way the family economy and microenterprises operated in Mani for many centuries until the 1980s. The difficulties in maximising the performance of small farm properties due to the infertile soil were addressed by making full use of all available means: the continuous cultivation of fields alternatively with cereals and legumes; the enhancement of soil performance by recycling animal waste; the mutual exchange of working animals for farm work (ploughing, threshing, transport); the collective mobilisation of labour for oil harvesting; generalised domestic livestock farming for the production and consumption of livestock products that were sufficient for family needs and usually in surplus. Even more so, by making use of the seasonally surplus workforce, securing wages for agricultural work in the richer neighbouring areas of Messinia and Laconia. In the Maniot economy, concepts of quality of life that appear with intensity in our days, such as the protection of the environment from extraordinary weather phenomena (with automatic generalised mobilisation of all available means to deal with fires and floods) and minimisation of the volume of waste (with total recycling of all by-products of agricultural and livestock production) were integrated into everyday life and their application was self-evident. Thus, the increase in productivity (of land, labour, available farming resources) was combined with the quality of life, which is still a concern in our time…

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

In Mani with its strong family traditions, the horizons of interest of its inhabitants were, for many centuries, limited. In the old closed societies of small villages, these interests were confined to the interior of the patriarchal family or perhaps to their village boundaries. People built their houses on barren land, cultivated the few fertile soils and grazed their livestock in common pastures. Only in exceptional circumstances, those that threatened the long-term balance of space and security of life, did Maniots undertake joint actions designed to safeguard pre-existing situations. In our century, however, these closed small societies have opened up permanently. The sources of income have also opened up with them. Barren land has, in many locations, become more profitable than fertile land, and its residential development yields a lot more income than many fertile lands of the same size. Despite all this, joint management, based on the the whole land area, has not made significant progress. Joint management efforts have been limited to uncoordinated loud protests and incomplete approaches to the development of new situations, which are the consequence of generalised planning and legislative initiatives undertaken at the central level.

The residential area that is clearly designated, with the exception of Gytheio, dates back to 1923, and is defined as the outline of the houses that existed then. The interventions to enlarge it, as a result of either social needs or political interests, expanded the residential areas to a certain extent and created new situations, from which many landowners benefited and improved their finances. Expansions of residential space, combined with the possibility of building outside residential areas for plots of land larger than four stremmas, came about through successive legislation starting as far back as 1955. These legislations referred to the possibility of building on small lots with frontage on provincial and municipal (formerly community) roads. A significant boost to construction activity was also allowed by the possibility of building on plots, self-contained before 1985, that were located in the zone of 800 meters from the center of the settlements that were more than two kilometers from the sea and had been classified as population stagnant.

These legislative regulations, which are positive for the finances of many families in Mani, have been inadequately applied by many beneficiaries and government bodies. Tritsis’ legislation for small urban planning initiatives with the provision of roads and squares in the zone of 800 meters of stagnant settlements, was silenced by his successors in the Ministry of Urban Planning and by the Prefects who were deciding to which settlements this legislation was applicable. Land concessions to common use before the issuance of building permits for off-plan incomplete plots, although they were drawn up with notary deeds and were registered in the land registry offices, remained in most cases on paper, due to the inertia of local government representatives to implement them. Something similar happened with the municipal roads, for which there are not even clear procedures for their final determination in each municipality.

In view of the intense tourist development in the country, and particularly of Mani, the need arose for changes in the definition of the urban area of each district, starting from the existing urban situation. The funding from the Development and Stability Fund for the preparation of Local Special and Urban Plans, settlement delimitation studies, municipal road designation, and their subsequent publication, are, in principle, an important contribution to the designation of the residential area. However, it has not become clear how long the whole procedure will take nor have the elements that will be taken into account in order to draw up the urban plan for each settlement been defined. Usually, because it is in the interests of the designers to prolong the completion time of the work and consequently their fees, the contractual time is extended significantly. However, this delay is in direct conflict with the interests of landowners in the study areas, since they are thus deprived of the exercise of their rights over their properties.

Several problems regarding the issuance of building permits have recently appeared in many areas of Mani, especially in those for which there is a significant demand for tourist development through proposals for inclusion in investment laws. There may be a basis for the state’s hesitancy to introduce transitional legislative arrangements, for fear of creating a new generation of residential distortions, but it loses its justification when the supervising ministers cannot ensure the timely completion and implementation of the Local Urban Plans under preparation. An additional and particularly important factor is to ensure transparency in all phases of the development of this urban planning process. It is necessary that the elected local authorities have full knowledge of the framework in which the urban plans of their area will be drawn up. This knowledge, together with the possibility for improvement and the relating of the opinion of their citizens with legitimate claims to the appropriate authorities should be the first obligations of the local politicians. This is because Urban Plans do not only concern the current residents, but mainly the generations to come…

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Studies concerning the evolution of nations in their historical course over the centuries conclude that the nations which survive are the ones which have a strong cultural base. Migrations, which lead to mixing of population groups with different cultural backgrounds, ultimately result in the predominance of the main characteristics of the culturally stronger population group. Mani’s history confirms these findings. Since the 3rd century AD, when it began to emerge as an autonomous region, it was subjected to diverse relocations of population groups (Romans, Slavs, Franks, Arvanites, Venetians). But with language being the main cultural element from the start, and religion afterwards, it was able to assimilate and integrate most of the different characteristics of these populations into its own cultural backgrounds. An important factor in this development was the autonomy of the region, based on the geophysical structure of its terrain and the warlike character of its inhabitants. The martial nature of the area increasingly developed by enriching the martial ability of its original inhabitants, inherited from their Spartan origins, with corresponding characteristics of the population groups that were relocated to its geographical area.

With the establishment of the modern Greek state, the autonomous characteristics of the region began to gradually fade, first with its integration into the administrative and legal system of the state and then with the removal of its transportation isolation. On the other hand, the migratory tendency of its overpopulation, which had been created in the previous period, caused in some cases a strong weakening of the cultural characteristics of the region.

However, during the last few decades, external changes, both of an administrative and economic nature, have changed the cultural backgrounds that had existed until then. The accession to the European Union, and especially the globalisation, accompanied by easy and rapid movement of people and goods, created new conditions of economic balance in the geographical area of Mani. Its privileged geophysical and climatic characteristics, due to the “opening up” caused by the removal of its transportation isolation, began to attract more and more visitors as well as people wishing to settle permanently in the area. This trend leads year after year to the generation of new income, to the extent of more than covering the shortfall in income from local production sources. What is required, in order to shape the characteristics of Mani of the future, is to make effective use of these trends for the benefit of its residents, both permanent and relocated, as well as the quality upgrade of the area. Above all, however, it is the formation of the necessary new cultural backgrounds that will harmoniously integrate the new population groups settling in the area.

The partitioning of properties, a legacy of the long-standing institution of patriarchal families, creates the first shield against large investment projects that would alter the natural characteristics of the area. It is also an indirect incentive to reinvest in our geographical area the incomes generated by the large number of visitors and the sale of houses and land. If entrepreneurs actually reinvest in Mani, the only thing that will be additionally required is the improvement of the quality of operation of the new investments according to the demands of the tourist market. However, achieving this will require good planning and, above all, joint action.

The aim will always be to offer better quality services by local entrepreneurs in a competitive environment. They, due to the opening of markets, will have to compete with others who may have more investment funds, easier access to international tourist agencies and more organised services for visitors. It goes without saying that this requirement leads to the need for reformed cultural backgrounds resulting from the qualitative upgrading of education and training in the region. We believe that parents have the first say in advancing this pursuit. If conscious parents generally have an obligation to take care of their children’s education, parents-entrepreneurs have a greater obligation to ensure that lasting quality is an integral part of their family businesses. Since the local entrepreneurs of the coming decades will have attended schools in the region, at least in the first stage, it becomes a necessity to upgrade their quality. In order to achieve this goal, the role of parents and local self-governing bodies is as important as the role of teachers and public education in general. Only close partnerships between these factors can lead to the desired results. The historical approach of this kind of partnerships, those created a few decades ago and which led to a revival of the educational structures of our region, could serve as a model for the proposed partnerships.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD