Every Greek government had ample opportunities to uproot the hold of clientelism over the state apparatus and didn’t. Why? Because any party that’s in power or has realistic chances of being in power – meaning that it is a party with mass appeal, uniting different trends – would be committing political suicide by severing ties with significant sections of society. It may, by cracking down on clientelist ties, earn the applause of urban elites, but it would be losing its connection with the broad mass of its voters, who always expect to be served or accommodated when the need arises.
It is a unique opportunity to disrupt the structures of the clientelist system
Mainstream parties cannot fulfill their formative role in society. They have abandoned it. They exist to govern – or, put differently, if they cease in the public mind to be viable for government, they shrink. In the current model of governance, the clientelist system is a central and enduring constant. Therefore, we should not expect, in light of the farm subsidies affair, any substantial reform in the direction I mentioned earlier.
When campaigning to be elected, every prime minister has spoken of a small, flexible cabinet, yet all ended up forming governments with 60 or even 65 ministers and deputy ministers. Why? Because broad geographic representation is key in forming governments. And why is such geographic representation necessary? Because that is what the clientelist state requires. The relationship between voter, MP and minister is resilient.
Just look at what happened to the champion of clientelism, PASOK. When its voters realized that it could no longer serve their individual interests – because of the austerity measures – the party collapsed. This relationship was never restored and this is one of the reasons why the socialist party has not been a serious contender for government in the 15 years since.
Taking this into account, therefore, we shouldn’t get our hopes too high when we hear yet another government talking again about serious reforms and structural changes to crack down on the clientelist state. We’ve had our fill of empty promises and wishful thinking. An idealist might say that the prime minister has a golden opportunity ahead in the upcoming constitutional revision. It is a unique opportunity to disrupt the structures of the clientelist system by establishing the incompatibility of serving simultaneously as a minister and a member of Parliament, and by introducing term limits for MPs.
Of course, such proposals would provoke a storm of reactions and would almost certainly be rejected – but at the very least, the prime minister could say that he tried, that he fought for something beyond his political reach.
So, any politicians looking for their party’s “lost soul” need not look very far. They will find it in the clientelist state. That is where the heart of all governing parties truly beats.