Can someone explain Greece to me?
An American journalist turns to the wild world of Twitter in search of the answer we’ve been looking for our whole lives.
He has just read the table below…
…which presents the findings of a study by the American think tank Pew Research Center published in late July. According to the study, Those who lean ideologically to the right are more likely to believe that there should have been fewer restrictions in public activities related to COVID-19.
He sees high numbers in the U.S.; more than half of the right-wing respondents (52%) who participated in the survey want fewer Covid-19 measures (45% more, in fact, compared to those who identify as left-wing). What accounts for this? The individualism of late capitalism or the irrationality of Trumpism? Consider the Swedes, in a country that stubbornly stuck to an anti-lockdown strategy (even though it likely didn’t work), to be satisfied and unwilling to accept major changes regardless of their ideological beliefs—something that may be indicative of just how strong the Scandinavian social contract is.
And he’s looking at Greece, too. The numbers are high there as well. Here, too, citizens want fewer restrictions. Except that the ideological breakdown is reversed—55% for the left, 47% for centrists, 34% for right-wingers. And there, the American is asking the public for help. «Can someone explain this country to me?». Why is Greece so different from the rest of the world?; Are Greek leftists (along with a few centrists) really «the most delusional people in the world»?;
The study was also covered by the Greek media (both traditional and social) with the expected «soccerization» of the findings. Those who wanted fewer measures or restrictions were automatically labeled «anti-vaxxers» and/or «deniers.» Except that this is a shockingly superficial conclusion. Because the timing of the survey (spring 2021) dictates its conclusions. Greece was still under a massive lockdown, the rationale for which was never adequately explained, while its effectiveness, even several months later, remains debatable. If you add the police crackdown that ultimately led to the lifting of the measures, the authoritarian mark left by the excessive use of measures such as, for example, the ban on gatherings, and a certain optimism sparked at the time by the expansion of vaccination efforts, this may better explain the «the Greek exception». (There are more extensive studies that seek to explain the ideological roots of Greek conservatism, without the pressure of the pandemic emergency.).
However, this PEW survey and the provocative questions it raises lead us to a discussion that—not only in Greece—is crucial. Is anti-vaccination an act of civil disobedience?; What are the limits of the political management of the vaccine issue (and the pandemic in general)? Can it be a arena for asserting hegemony or for exercising opposition? Officially, both the government and the official opposition will deny this in every way possible. Just as they have been passing the buck back and forth over the unsightly scenes of anti-vaccine rallies. Between the lines, however, things are different. On the one hand, and with the measures it announced this week, the government is applying the same doctrine to those who are hesitant or anti-vaccine as it does to refugees: «let’s make their lives difficult.» And while in certain areas, the expansion of mandatory vaccination has broad social acceptance, it is very difficult to explain How can the government exclude a segment of the population from free testing? (whereas in most countries, even with pop-up vaccination centers, the approach is completely different). On the other hand, while SYRIZA is going to great lengths to advocate for the vaccine, as long as this continues, Pavlos Polakis's crescendo (which is not just some random member of the party), the phrase «fishing for votes in the murky waters of the anti-vaccination movement» will always be on the table.
We are somewhere between the start of the third round of vaccinations and the arrival of the fourth wave. For the second consecutive season, the Greek summer was «Covid-free,» so as not to upset tourists and to let Greeks unwind. As soon as we started saying «have a good winter,» measures were tightened as if by magic; the reopening of schools is raising fears of a surge in infections, and the numbers are expected to rise.
The first round of vaccinations, as is the case worldwide, has plateaued. 57% of Greeks have received at least one dose, and 54% are fully vaccinated. The numbers are low (18th out of 26 EU countries—below the EU average of 63%; and the comparison with Portugal, our “mirror country,” which has surpassed 80%, is disheartening).
The politicization of vaccination is both a cause and a consequence of its failure.
