Greece is living through a revolution, the first real attempt to set the country on course toward a viable future, and it is only natural that this will provoke widespread disruption and public reaction. No one is unaffected, from the wage earner and pensioner whose incomes are reduced while costs rise, to the criminal tax evader who will face unprecedented scrutiny of his affairs.
Anyone who follows Greece closely will note that the intensity of true public discontent has been surprisingly low.
The greatest reaction, of course, comes from organised interest groups, such as unions. Unfortunately, their mobilisation and strike action at the height of the tourist season has had a disproportionately negative effect on the country’s image because a) it has affected citizens of other countries who are here or who were planning to visit, b) these legitimate forms of protest have been framed by the criminal acts of hoodlums who firebombed a bank in May, killing three employees, and c) due to a spike in the actions of a small terrorist gang.
Anyone who follows Greece closely will note that the intensity of true public discontent has been surprisingly low. It appears that however unhappy many people may be with a reduced income and the fact that their country has been shamed by thieves and people who are incompetent, they also understand the need for reforms.
There is far greater public tolerance of the need for reforms than we were conditioned to expect during the decades in which no government dared take on the unions nor do anything else to upset voters.
This tolerance of change, however, has been offset by the way in which the bank employees’ deaths and the gangland-style murder of a journalist by terrorists have merged with the general image of Greece in international media.
Again, Greeks have done about as much as they can to make their country’s image as bad as it is, but it is far from being a ‘war zone’ as the Sect of Revolutionaries would like to portray it.
That is why serious news media used to have permanent correspondents in places of interest, to provide the context of the news and not be seduced by the hyperbole of the moment.
This, like so much else, has been changed radically by the ease with which news is now disseminated: When Athens was rocked by riots in December 2008, following a policeman’s shooting of a teenager, many analyses of the situation by journalists based outside Greece showed surprising insight regarding the dynamics of Greek society, which implies that, without local correspondents, they were able to keep up with Greece from a distance.
The few news organisations that do have Athens-based correspondents are able to rely on their added expertise – both in 2008 and now – to provide additional benefits to their readers or viewers.
Ironically, however, locally based correspondents can sometimes be suspected of overplaying the significance of a story in order to ensure that their contribution makes it into the paper or onto the screen – something that the correspondent who parachute in would have no interest in doing.
In the end, though, it can only be expected that the image of a country is determined by the dramatic bits – like those the Greeks are so good at producing at regular intervals.
It is inevitable that the change sweeping Greece will lead to protests and tension that will affect not only citizens but also visitors. This will affect the country’s image and, in turn, its tourism.
However the representatives of our tourism industry are surprisingly sanguine about the country’s image and the losses that they will suffer this year. It is as if even they, who are on the frontline of the efforts to save Greece, realise that the troubles may be disruptive but they are also an inescapable consequence of the changes that have to be made.
There is no doubt that Greece’s image has been damaged and that this makes recovery more difficult. But recovery will not only repair the damage, it will create new dynamics for development and prosperity. There is no option but for everyone to make a special effort to make it through this time, with all its difficulties.
Reprinted from Athens Plus.