Από τις πρώτες σελίδες, όπου συνοψίζονται τα κύρια ρήματα, η Ελλάδα ξεχωρίζει ανάμεσα στις δημοκρατίες με την πιο έντονη #αυταρχική ροπή (major autocratizers) μαζί με Αρμενία&Μαυρίκιο. Σημειώνεται χαρακτηριστικά ότι στις χώρες αυτές η δημοκρατία βρίσκεται σε απότομη υποχώρηση. 2/
Αυτό που ανιχνεύει το @vdeminstitute είναι η κατεύθυνση των πραγμάτων. Η Ελλάδα υποβαθμίζεται σε εκλογική δημοκρατία (από πλήρη φιλελεύθερη δημοκρατία) με έντονη ροπή προς την #αυταρχικοποίηση. Δεν συνιστά, δηλαδή, #αυταρχικό καθεστώς, αλλά βρίσκεται σε μια ανησηχυτική πορεία. 3/
Στην Ελλάδα αφιερώνεται ένα από τα πολύ λίγα ολοσέλιδα της έκθεσης, όπου τονίζονται οι βασικές πτυχές της δημοκρατικής υποχώρησης: υπονόμευση των θεσμικών αντίβαρων στην εκτελεστική εξουσία, αποδυνάμωση της κοινοβουλευτικής & δικαστικής ελεγκτικής εξουσίας... 4/
... υποχώρηση της ελευθερίας της έκφρασης, του τύπου, των ακαδημαϊκών ελευθεριών, υπερ-συγκέντρωση εξουσιών στο εκτελεστικό επίπεδο & στον ίδιο τον πρωθυπουργό. Όλοι οι σημαντικοί "δείκτες υγείας" μιας δημοκρατίας μοιάζουν να βρίσκονται σε υποχώρηση. 5/
Θεωρείται, δε, η #Ελλάδα ανάμεσα στις 10 χώρες με την πιο έντονη #αυταρχικοποίηση μέσα στα τελευταία 3 χρόνια. Με άλλα λόγια, η δημοκρατική υποχώρηση της χώρας είναι συγκριτικά αξιοσημείωτη σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, αλλά και σαφώς οριοθετημένη χρονικά. 7/
Κλείνω το θρεντ εδώ ως μία πρώτη καταγραφή/σύνοψη των σχετικών ευρημάτων. Η έκθεση αυτή αξίζει να διαβαστεί & να προβληματίσει. Ιδιαίτερα εν όψει εκλογών. END/
Υ.Γ. Και επειδή δεν είμαι ακόμα εντελώς σίγουρος για την απόδοση του autocratization στα ελληνικά, ας μας πει & ο ειδικός @nikosarantakos ή όποιος/α άλλος/η φίλος/η φιλόλογος αν ακούγεται δόκιμο.
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The electoral law in #Greece & why changing it (again!) now would be another hit to the already suffering #democracy 🧵
Greece does not have a stable electoral system enshrined in its constitution. This means that electoral laws can & do change from time to time. 1/
Since the 1974 restoration of democracy, Greece has mostly used a so-called ‘reinforced proportionality’ system that is proportional only in name, as it tends to disproportionately benefit the largest party & excludes smaller ones due to a 3% threshold for entering parliament. 2/
The long-established parties of the post-authoritarian era (ND & PASOK) have historically tended to tweak or change the electoral law with the aim to undermine opponents & benefit themselves. 3/
Here’s a story that would've been funny if it wasn’t so worrying. @RSF_inter publish their latest index on press freedom in which #Greece has dramatically dropped from position 70 to 108. To those closely following political developments in the country, this was no surprise. 1/
#Greece, after conservative New Democracy took power in 2019, has been in a downward spiral of #democratic_backsliding that affects every level of the polity: overpowering the executive, undermining the independence of institutions, assaults on minority rights & press freedom. 2/
Regarding the media sphere in particular, the conservative government has consistently tried to silence critical voices, while rewarding media outlets willing to turn a blind eye to their (mis)conduct & amplify their propaganda. 3/
Greek govt announced new restrictive measures targeting the #unvaccinated population. These include suspension from work for unvaccinated staff in healthcare/pharmacies, mandating regular rapid tests (1/week) at their own expense for staff in broader public & private sector… 1/
Even more often tests (2/week) for staff in education, tourism, hospitality & arts. Totally excluding unvaccinated citizens from indoor spaces of restaurants/bars. While restricting free rapid tests in Greece’s public health hubs for the vaccinated only. 2/
I understand the concerns of govt & expert advisors about going into autumn with infections still high & vaccination pace significantly slowed down or even declining. However, we should remember that the communication strategy of this govt has been disastrous. 3/
The Greek conservative government of Kyriakos #Mitsotakis has managed the 1st wave of #pandemic efficiently, however, its policies have been erratic, inconsistent, or even straight catastrophic since. The latest story revealed by @EFSYNTAKTON today is truly hard to believe. 1/
As documented in the relevant report, in October 2020 & with Greece seeing the rise of a devastating 2nd wave of the pandemic, 4 persons from the Fenerbahçe entourage were let through, even though they had fever & were thus suspect of carrying #COVID19efsyn.gr/politiki/30141… 2/
The dialog between the officer on the ground & the person in charge from Civil Protection is revealing:
"- 4 persons from Fenerbahçe's entourage have fever
- Let the team through
- Are you sure?
- Chardalias' orders, get on with it, in the Pakistani number" 3/
I don't do this often so please bear with me. Here's a thread about the alarming developments in #Greece & #New_Democracy's hard-right/#authoritarian turn.👇This photo by D. Tosidis (credit: EPA-EFE; Source:
ANA-MPA) can act as an intro to the thread. 0/ webgate.epa.eu/webgate?EVENT=…
So, is #New_Democracy govt driving #Greece towards democratic backsliding? Today after we witnessed yesterday's disgraceful images of #police brutally attacking & arresting protesting students inside the country’s biggest university is a sadly fitting day to pose the question. 1/
If we take #Hungary & #Poland as exemplary cases in the literature & as points of comparison, the answer is likely to be yes. The most common symptoms of democratic backsliding mentioned by scholars seem to be manifesting in #Greece since July 2019 with disturbing consistency. 2/
Greek PM #Mitsotakis violated again (!) the #COVID19 rules. He visited Ikaria island, where he participated at a big gathering at the house of a local MP with 30 other people, breaking the rules against household mixing, social distancing & mask-wearing. thenationalherald.com/greece_politic…
The incident is truly shocking & was reported on the very same day that the #Mitsotakis government put around half of Greece under tighter lockdown measures, with curfews starting as early as 18:00.
The government's tight control over public & private #media resulted in the effective 'burying' of the story. This would have made headlines in most European countries. This is indicative of the worrying decline of public scrutiny & contestation in the country under this govt.