MacroPolis

Public sector hires under scrutiny again with more in the pipeline

The latest enhanced surveillance report from the European Commission urged the Greek government to keep a close watch on the public sector payroll, which is once again growing at a significant pace.

Public sector staff trends survive MoU exit, change of government

By: Georgia Nakou

The latest figures from Greece’s public sector staff census show a continuation of the trends established during the latter part of the country’s financial crisis. While the numbers of permanent staff in the public sector remain static or slightly reduced compared to previous years, there have been steady increases in other categories, including temporary contract staff.

ND holds on to large poll lead despite growing public dissatisfaction

Two recent opinion polls confirm the political dominance of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his New Democracy government amidst the pandemic and the tense relations with Turkey.

Many obstacles to clear in Greece's digital leap

By: Georgia Nakou

Announcing the establishment by Microsoft of a regional cloud computing hub in Greece, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that his government was focussing on “the digital transformation of government and the economy” as a critical step in achieving “Greece’s leap into the future, placing Greeks among the winners of the 4th industrial revolution”.

Greek government goes digital under lockdown, as more coronavirus clusters emerge

The coronavirus crisis has not been entirely without its positives for Greeks, one of which has been the acceleration of e-government and the provision of online services.

Greece puts crisis management strategy in place as it braces for virus

The government has decided to activate a crisis management centre to oversee the effort to combat the coronavirus as a new opinion poll indicates that the relatively early action it has taken to aid social distancing has strong approval among voters.

Conflict over Competition Commission also a clash of narratives for ND, SYRIZA

Parliament is due to vote on Thursday on the last of the three bills put forward by the new government in its first weeks in power, before the House closes for a brief summer recess.

Amid clash over watchdog, ND expects reforms to deliver more effective governance

The government’s second bill, regarding the executive arm of the state, was approved by Parliament late on Tuesday amid further disagreements between New Democracy and SYRIZA about whether the new legislation will lead to more accountable and transparent governance.

New Democracy starts rolling out its first three bills

The government has begun tabling the first draft laws it promised to pass through Parliament before the summer recess begins on August 10.

Bid for better use of digital tools likely to have decisive impact on ND's goals

While the immediate focus since New Democracy came to power has been on the first three bills that are due to be submitted to Parliament in the coming days, the government is also placing emphasis on the effort to seriously upgrade the use of digital tools in the Greek public administration and beyond.