Editorial: Everything is in flux

In politics, as in everyday life, everything is in flux, and that view of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is today predominant because broader economic, social, public health, geopolitical and other conditions are constantly shifting and have an impact on society, changing the public's frame of mind.

In these difficult and transitional times, with plenty of surprises, the unexpected lurks and changes are constantly multiplying. Things taken for granted are suddenly thrown into question, daily life is changing and the needs of the many are continually increasing.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis won the 2019 general election based on the expectation that he would change the country. That was his pledge and it fuelled expectations among the majority of voters.

However, the PM did not have the necessary time to implement and advance his plans. Less than six months into his term, he was confronted with an unprecedented pandemic - in terms of intensity and duration - which took by surprise and rocked governments all over the world.

To stem the resulting public health crisis, it was necessary to take unprecedented restrictive measures and to overturn almost everything. People were shut inside their homes, social relations were almost eliminated, employees discovered tele-work, and the conservative Mitsotakis government was forced to make huge state expenditures and implement policies that were never part of its programme.

Since then, balances have not been restored. Even worse, in the interim new inflationary, monetary, and geopolitical dangers emerged and undermined, in the manner of an asymmetrical threat, the efforts to achieve economic recovery and exit the public health crisis.

Nearly two-and-a-half years after it came...