Maria Efthymiou
Virginia Nasika

Dr Konstantinos Simitis, LSE alumnus and former Prime Minister of Greece, gave a lecture at the LSE entitled “Is Democracy in Crisis? Lessons from the Greek Experience” on Tuesday 23 October. He analysed the evolution of politics and policy in Greece and voiced his opinions on Greek current affairs.

Dr Simitis, speaking after recent Greek elections, argued that interest in politics and public debates has been decreasing, that the ideologies that once inspired citizens to get involved in public debate have declined and that class differences are not particularly marked in our era.

The electorate, he believes, only gets involved in the political process at election time and remains indifferent in the interim. He illustrated this with the example of the Greek electorate, which remains detached from politics most of the time.

He also argued that the balance between security and individual liberties is a sensitive one, but did not necessarily see a contradiction between upholding human rights and reinforcing security measures to counter terrorism in Europe.

He emphasised the importance of a “European public space”, where European leaders and European citizens can openly debate and exert constructive criticism – where, for example, the Italian Prime Minister can present and discuss European treaties in Germany. He also stressed the importance of social and environmentalist movements and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to adapt to the new era.
Simitis remains optimistic, believing that democracy has not reached an impasse and that there are ways to “re-politicise politics”.

Questions addressed a wide range of topics such as the crisis at the Athens Stock Exchange in 1999, the future of PA.SO.K (the Greek Socialist Party) after their defeat in the last elections and the possibilities of direct democracy in the era of new technology.
The lecture was followed by a reception organised by the Hellenic Observatory, where students and guests had the chance to talk with Simitis. The Hellenic Society was there to meet him.