In the country where she was born Democracy the quality of democracy has recovered in 2022 after a decade of decline due to the side effects of the economic crisis – and this despite the problems that have arisen recently due to the wiretapping case. This is the conclusion for Greece from the annual report of its research department. Economist magazine (Economist Intelligence Unit) based on Democracy Index. This report traditionally divides states into four categories: full democracies, imperfect democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. OUR Hellas remains in “imperfect democracies”, but our rating for 2022 has risen to 7.97 (out of 10) from 7.56 in 2021.

This is the best result since 2010, when we scored 7.92 points, which is very close to the transition to “full democracy”. From 2021 to 2022, we have climbed nine positions to a coveted 25th place globally (and 15th in Western Europe), while we are already in good company, ahead of Portugal (7.95), Italy (7. 69) and Cyprus (7.38). , and we are two steps away from France (8.07) and Great Britain (8.28). With a little effort, we will return to the status we had in 2006, when with 8.13 we managed to get ahead of even the UK, which had 8.08. Germany (8.8), Denmark (9.28) and Sweden (9.39) are full democracies. At the opposite end is our friend Turkey, which did not even manage to score a “democratic five” (4.35).

After a decade of recession due to the economic crisis – What the Economist Research Department says in its annual report.

Scores are structured based on results in clear categories. Greece has made progress in the field of the electoral process and pluralism due to the efforts of state bodies to promote political participation, especially through the promotion of diaspora voting. The other category is the functioning of government, and in this area the removal of increased oversight that captures the effectiveness of government is clearly “measured”. The successful management of the pandemic, which led to the restoration of public confidence in the state (after the nadir of the economic crisis) and the return of tourism to record levels, was also seen as a positive development. Added to all this is the successful organization of vaccinations, the lifting of restrictions on personal freedoms faster than in other countries after the fight against the pandemic, and the effective treatment of the economic difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine.

Of course, there are also negative aspects, and they are connected with the freedom of the press. As the study notes, in Greece, along with freedom of speech, there are elements that suggest that “journalists have no right to investigate unpleasant truths.” Our country is accused of being “strong censorship in matters related to the police, the army and the church.” The case of wiretapping also deserves special mention. However, the progress made so far has not been offset, but instead has been enough to ensure we are well on our way to 2021.