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Democracy is the only option

It took 50 years for the Greek state to develop more effective systems to curb tax evasion. This is not meant to mock or denigrate the state; quite the contrary. Let us look at the statement without prejudice, without dismissing it as a PR stunt. The Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) and the Criminal Investigation Department of the police launched an operation following a number of complaints filed through the digital app Appodixi (receipt) and were able to dismantle a large ring involving 287 Chinese companies that had tampered with cash registers and issued fake receipts, reporting only a tenth of each transaction to the tax authorities, through the very simple – and ingenious – method of moving the decimal point. In just 27 days, this network had issued 220,000 receipts with a determined value of over 3 million euros.

Of course, it is digital technology that has made this crime possible, but it also helps to develop democracy.

It helped identify suspects with serious criminal histories involved in a recent hooligan “civil war” clash outside the Panathinaikos football stadium in Athens, and uncover their connections to criminal gangs accused of drug trafficking on university campuses. It helped expose a racket in which local authorities and state officials extorted money from bars, cafes and restaurants in the capital and on popular holiday islands in exchange for writing off or ignoring their offences. It even helped us learn that the mastermind behind the racket is a 43-year-old woman codenamed “Nancy.”

So? Who didn’t know that there is an illegal state within the legitimate state that tarnishes his name and work and is often fueled by it? Populists and demagogues like to proclaim that if Greece were a real democracy, there would be at least 1,000 more villains behind bars. However, the path from random speculation to evidence of illegal acts that can lead to justice is a painful one, with challenges, setbacks and losses. So when the masterminds of criminal practices are arrested, success lies not only in technological progress, but also in our democratic institutions.

If we take stock of the quality of Greek democracy 50 years after the transition – or Metapolitefsi – the main lesson is that democracy is the only option. Even if it does not work as well as it should, it naturally offers room to evolve, improve and learn. And the more we criticize it and give it our full support, the more it gives back.

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