Skeptical of institutions, Greeks place their trust in family and acquaintances

By Yiouli Eptakiki

A woman who wanted to work as a hairdresser applied for a license at an Athens municipality in September 2011. The license was not issued until 2013 and only after the intervention of the Ombudsman, who had to appeal to the municipality and two ministries to get the job done. The reasons why something so simple became so complicated are well known to Greeks: foot-dragging, indifference, red tape and poor management.

There are plenty of similarly ludicrous tales to be found in the annual report of the Greek Ombudsman. Some make you want to laugh and others to cry, while in many cases the Ombudsman has had to step in and act as arbitrator to cover the gap when state institutions simply could not deliver the services required by citizens.

How easy, however, is it for citizens to gain access to the authorities and institutions whose job it is to protect their rights and interests? This was the focus of an 18-month study conducted for the Ombudsman by a team of scientists. The findings are enlightening and reveal a political culture that needs to change radically, as well as an interesting reading of Greek society.

Lack of access

The main conclusion that arises from the study is the lack of access certain population groups have to independent authorities.

“Although technically they have the right, they have no recourse to what we call ‘lawful rights,’” Nikos Nagopoulos, an associate professor in the University of the Aegean’s Sociology Department and one of the researchers, told Kathimerini.

The academic argues that while there are laws ensuring that citizens are not excluded, this is not enough on a practical level. He cites the adoption of EU legislation on...