Vaggelis Kousioras/AP
February 28, 2023, unraveled in horrific fashion in Northern Greece when a passenger train, carrying 352 souls onboard, collided head-on with a freight train on the same track. The first two cars allegedly disintegrated, with the third derailing, amassing at least 57 killed and hospitalizing many more in one of the worst transport incidents in recent Greek memory. As the world looked on in shock, one cannot help but wonder: What went wrong?
Human error evidently played a factor; several crucial individuals, such as the stationmaster, have been charged with negligent homicide. The Greek Minister of Transport, Kostas Karamanlis, resigned upon hearing of the news, reportedly as “a basic indication of respect” for those affected by the disaster. A deeper dive, however, suggests that the incident was merely a cataclysmic sum of the inevitable.
Marred by an ongoing financial crisis dating back to the late 2000s, Greece has long struggled to restart its economic recovery, primarily due to poor governance and irresponsible policies. Since the nation joined the Eurozone, thus adopting the euro as its currency, it has been plagued by irresponsible spending and white lies to both the EU and its citizens that eventually resulted in a budget deficit of 15.4% of its GDP in 2009, more than 4 times the average.
As a result, Greece — under the administration of then-Prime Minister George Papandreou — was forced to implement austerity policies that severely reduced economic activity, and with it, investments in infrastructure. Naturally, the transport system began to lag behind the ever-increasing demand for efficient commutes, to the point that Karamanlis claimed in the wake of his resignation that the Hellenic railway system “is in a state that does not suit the 21st century.”
So although human error was to blame for this incident when isolated, how can we expect workers to be at full capacity while operating with shoddy equipment, under the pressure of a contracting economy and unemployment at sky-high levels, with no hope for reprieve in the future?
When your government has been reliant on bailout funds (to the tune of 300 billion USD) to alleviate creditors hot on their collar, thereby accruing longer-term debt under Great Depression-esque market stress, would you entrust your life to their investments?
It appears that there has been a shocking lack of accountability throughout the past 20-30 years throughout the Greek government. It seems fitting that the only reason Greece was able to join the Eurozone and enjoy the temporary benefits of the euro’s parity was that it resorted to lies to comply with the Maastricht Treaty, which outlines the conditions required to join the EU.
The fact that many in the wealthier classes have engaged in tax fraud or evasion does little to help generate government revenue to either pay off at least a minute fraction of the debt or fund investments through their own pockets. In fact, it has gotten so bad that politicians in the nation have termed it “a national sport.” So much for the Olympics.
The truth of the matter is that this accident is merely a headline in an endless barrage of social crises, tainted by a spike in suicides and homelessness throughout the once-thriving nation. One can only hope that this fateful day serves as a tipping point for significant reform in the right direction, to get Greece back on track. Since the austerity measures still remain paramount to alleviating the deep recession, it seems clear that industries have to compensate for the reduced funding. In the case of the transport industry, consistent audits and failsafe measures among train operators may be a start. This may augment employment slightly and reduce the chances of such an accident ever happening again. This is easier said than done, of course; the most fundamental change must begin at the top, where accountability has become even more crucial than ever.
Of course, while changes in representatives are a start, they pale in comparison to the Herculean effort needed from the Hellenic nation as a whole in order to right its wrongs. Long touted as the forefront and paternal figure of modern society, Greece needs to wake up and catch up to reality if the 57 fatalities are to be repented for.
