{"id":11135,"date":"2026-06-16T21:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=11135"},"modified":"2026-06-16T21:23:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:23:00","slug":"lefteris-avgenakis-why-is-stability-the-most-underappreciated-value-in-greek-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=11135","title":{"rendered":"Lefteris Avgenakis: Why is stability the most underappreciated value in Greek politics?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">We <b>Greeks <\/b>have learned to live with uncertainty. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">During the decade of the <b>crisis<\/b>, the word \u201ctomorrow\u201d ceased to mean planning and became synonymous with fear.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\"> <b>Closed banks<\/b>, capital controls, lines at ATMs, <b data-path-to-node=\"0\" data-index-in-node=\"207\">images that must never be forgotten<\/b>, because they were not a historical accident.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"0\">They were the result of specific policy choices, specific people, and a specific logic.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\">Today, when someone talks about stability, public discourse is quick to dismiss it as boring. Stability doesn\u2019t \u201csell\u201d headlines. It lacks drama. It doesn\u2019t generate viral moments on social media.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"> And yet, <b data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"202\">it is precisely this stability that allows<\/b> a family to plan for its future, an entrepreneur to dare to invest, and a young person to seriously consider staying in Greece instead of taking the first flight abroad.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"2\">Stability does not mean stagnation <\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"2\">There is a widespread and deliberately cultivated misconception: that the opposite of stability is change. It is not. <b data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"155\">Its opposite is chaos<\/b>. And chaos does not lead to progress\u2014it destroys. We know this well in Greece, because we\u2019ve lived through it.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"3\">The challenge of governance is not to make flashy announcements. It is <b data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"82\">to build quietly, persistently, and strategically<\/b>. To lay the groundwork so that those who follow can build even higher. That is precisely what is difficult, and that is precisely what is valuable.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"4\">The numbers that don\u2019t lie <\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">In recent years, Greece has achieved something that seemed impossible a decade ago. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\"><b data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"122\">The growth rate has remained consistently above<\/b> the Eurozone and EU averages.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"4\">In October 2025, unemployment reached its lowest level since 2009. The country has been fully restored to investment-grade status by all major rating agencies, while public debt as a percentage of GDP continues on a steady downward trajectory.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">All of the above constitute measurable proof that consistency in governance pays off.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"5\">That <b data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"94\">when a country knows where it\u2019s going<\/b> and doesn\u2019t change course every time the opposition raises its voice, it ultimately gets somewhere.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"6\">Memory as a Political Tool <\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6\">One of the biggest problems in Greek political life is the short collective memory. We forget quickly. <b data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"141\">We forget the bailout agreements, the cuts<\/b>, the closed pharmacies, the lines at hospitals. We forget who led us there and under what pretexts.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">The opposition knows this and exploits it. Its political game is well-known: every success is downplayed, every problem is magnified, and every bit of progress is presented as accidental or temporary. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"7\">The reason is simple: <b data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"219\">they cannot sell hope because they have no<\/b> program. They can only sell indignation. And indignation sells best when people\u2019s memories are short.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\">This indignation comes at a cost. A real, measurable cost. <b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"61\">It creates a climate of uncertainty that discourages<\/b> investment, wears citizens down, and fuels cynicism.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"8\"> Cynicism is not a virtue\u2014it is the most convenient excuse for demanding nothing and expecting nothing.<\/p>\n<h3 data-path-to-node=\"9\">Today\u2019s Challenge <\/h3>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">Greece stands at a critical crossroads. Not in the dramatic sense of the past\u2014we\u2019re not talking about survival. <b data-path-to-node=\"9\" data-index-in-node=\"140\">We\u2019re talking about the kind of country we want<\/b> to leave to our children. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">We can continue down a path that pays off, that brings investment, jobs, and dignity. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9\">Or we can return to the \u201clet\u2019s tear everything down and start from scratch\u201d mentality\u2014a mentality we\u2019ve experienced before and know where it leads.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"10\">Stability is not the choice of the timid or the complacent. It is the choice of those who <b data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"94\">respect the hard work and sacrifices<\/b> it took to get us here. It is the choice of those who think not only of the next election, but of the next generation.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">We owe this to the Greeks who persevered, who did not leave, who kept the faith even when there was no reason to believe. <\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"11\">And this is what <b data-path-to-node=\"11\" data-index-in-node=\"141\">the New Democracy continues to defend<\/b>\u2014without grandstanding, without populism, through hard work and consistency.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"12\">Because stability is not merely an economic term. <b data-path-to-node=\"12\" data-index-in-node=\"54\">It is a political responsibility<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>*Lefteris Avgenakis is a New Democracy member of parliament representing Heraklion.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Greeks have learned to live with uncertainty. During the decade of the crisis, the word \u201ctomorrow\u201d ceased to mean planning and became synonymous with &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}