Free falling back to the 80s

A routine transaction with the Greek civil service can easily develop into an odyssey of irrationality. There is nothing original about this observation. The problems of the country's unreformed public administration have been swelling, albeit with fluctuations, for decades now. However, taking stock of recent developments, we appear to be sliding back to the 1980s, according to one of the country's foremost pundits on the matter.

Recent jibes from Brussels over the lack of independence of the Greek public sector and warnings against the practice of appointing friends to public office speak volumes about the state of affairs in this country.

The selection of new general secretaries for ministries can be done in two ways: either correctly, or by adhering to the rules on paper but appointing "friends of the minister."  The second way comes out on top all the time.