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INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001547 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL GR
SUBJECT: GREEK MINISTERIAL RECONFIGURATIONS 
 
REF: ATHENS 1535 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) Prime Minister Papandreou's first organizational act after 
taking office October 6 was to reconfigure government ministries in 
accordance with his campaign promises to create a "tight, 
economical, job oriented" ministry scheme.  Papandreou merged the 
Culture and Tourism ministries; resurrected a separate Finance 
Ministry; and inaugurated a "super ministry" for the Economy, 
Competitiveness and Marine that absorbed much of the old 
Development Ministry and the merchant marine operations of the old 
Merchant Marine, Aegean, and Island Policy Ministry.  The Aegean 
and Island Policy were transferred to a reshuffled Interior, 
Decentralization, and Electronic Governance ministry under a new 
secretariat.  A hybrid "homeland security" ministry, named 
Citizens' Protection, was established to absorb the Public Order 
and Civil Defense secretariats from the Interior ministry as well 
as the Coast Guard, the secretariat for Ports and Port Policy, and 
the directorate for Shipping Safety from the now defunct Ministry 
of Merchant Marine, Aegean, and Island Policy.  Citizens' 
Protection will also oversee the National Intelligence Service. 
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Transportation, and Networks 
assumes the bulk of operations of the old Environment and Public 
Works Ministry, with a separate Ministry for the Environment, 
Energy, and Climate Change created to focus on environmental issues 
that are positioned high on the PM's agenda. Finally, Papandreou 
eliminated the Ministry for Macedonia and Thrace and attached a 
secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace to the Interior Ministry. 
 
 
 
Economy and Finance 
 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In the economy, which was the main focus of both major 
parties in the election campaign, the division of the National 
Economy and Finance ministries into two separate ministries has 
been perceived as a palpable sign of Papandreou's intention to 
increase centralized planning of productivity, production, public 
spending, government revenue, and the management of Greece's 
burgeoning public debt and budget deficits.  On the other hand, it 
potentially sets the stage for conflict between the fiscal 
approaches of new ministers Katselis and Papakonstantinou.  The 
abolition of the Ministry for Merchant Marine, Aegean, and Island 
Policy has not been received well among the powerful (but usually 
apolitical) community of Greek shipowners.  On the other hand, by 
making the independent Finance Minister the leader in debt talks 
with the EU, market watchers said, Papandreou signaled his 
intention to move rapidly in re-negotiating a comprehensive plan 
for debt reduction with Greece's European partners. 
 
 
 
Law Enforcement 
 
-------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The creation of the new Ministry of Citizens' Protection, 
essentially a police and civil defense department, has been 
interpreted as Papandreou's opening move in a multifaceted 
initiative to reform the police force; 
 
build effective cooperation between agencies charged with fighting 
wildfires, one of Greece's most pressing civil defense issues; and 
bring all of the country's law enforcement organizations under one 
unified "homeland security" command.  Michalis Chrysochoidis, the 
new Citizens' Protection Minister, has called for "democracy with 
firmness," in an attempt to balance the party's leftist roots with 
the need for public order, and has promised a reorganization of the 
antiterrorist branch of the Hellenic Police to deal with the 
younger generation of domestic terrorists.  Chrysochoidis has also 
said he will emphasize Greece's heavy burden in dealing with 
illegal immigration to the "highest level" of EU organs.  Although 
Papandreou's PASOK party has traditionally criticized its 
conservative predecessors for their management of the police, it 
remained relatively quiet throughout the campaign on the security 
aspects of illegal immigration and on the resurgence of domestic 
terrorism in the wake of the December 2008 riots.  A number of 
specialized commentators have noted that PASOK has not articulated 
how it would deal with a possible new outbreak of large-scale 
rioting.  There is considerable speculation that new violence may 
occur to mark the first anniversary of the riots December 6, as 
well as the upcoming trial of the police officer charged with the 
teenager's shooting (scheduled to start December 15), making this 
 
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issue all the more pressing. 
 
 
 
Environment and Infrastructure 
 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Papandreou fulfilled one of the central points of PASOK's 
election platform by establishing a Ministry of Environment, 
Energy, and Climate Change.  Critics have questioned his 
appointment of speechwriter Tina Birbili to the post, arguing that 
although she may have Papandreou's ear, she lacks the experience 
and political gravitas to run this ministry in the face of serious 
opposition to the "green approach" by powerful special interests. 
(Note: Greek media commented negatively on her wearing blue jeans, 
sneakers, and a backpack while accepting the mandate from President 
Papoulias.)  The new Ministry of Infrastructure, Transportation, 
and Networks must focus on key lingering issues, viz. the land 
register (cadastre) project, which has already attracted EU 
attention repeatedly over allegations of waste and mismanagement of 
EU support funds.  The "networks" part, just like the "electronic 
governance" part at Interior, is linked to one of Papandreou's 
keenest interests: "Internet for all."  The new ministry will 
direct existing programs of expanding access to broadband -- a 
fiber optic project, funded by the EU, is already under way -- and 
will need to devise an all-round Internet policy that the previous 
government lacked.  Papandreou assigns great importance to Internet 
technologies as "force multipliers" in both business and government 
and is expected to take personal interest in this area. 
 
 
 
Regional Ministries Downgraded 
 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The abolition of the Ministry for Macedonia and Thrace has 
generated considerable negative reaction, particularly from the 
rightwing LAOS part, but even from inside PASOK, primarily for 
symbolic reasons.  Critics of the move stress that with the 
Macedonia name issue at a critical juncture, and with Turkey 
showing intense interest in the welfare of the "Turkish" minority 
in Thrace (identified as the Muslim minority by the Greek 
government), the downgrading of the ministry to the status of a 
secretariat sends an improper signal to both Skopje and Ankara. 
According to the consensus of Greek pundits, the atmospherics 
surrounding the name issue inside Papandreou's kitchen cabinet are 
far from the traditionally "patriotic."  The abolition of the 
Ministry for the Aegean and Island Policy has elicited similar 
reactions. 
 
 
 
Culture and Tourism 
 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Finally, the merger of Tourism with Culture has been 
criticized by many over the risk of commercializing culture to meet 
tourism bottom-line imperatives.  The appointment of Pavlos 
Geroulanos, one Papandreou's closest advisers, to head the new 
ministry, however, has been interpreted as a sign of personal 
Papandreou interest in the interaction of both fields in light of 
the new PM's repeated references to culture being a "national 
treasure" that should be "properly deployed" to increase Greece's 
prestige and credibility. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
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¶7. (SBU) Papandreou has evangelized for a number of years about 
"re-establishing" the state and reforming its relations to the 
public.  Using American-style rhetoric, he has promised results 
within six months of his cabinet taking the oath of office on 
October 7, 2009.  Ministerial reconfigurations play a key part in 
these announced intentions.  With the corrupt, ossified state 
bureaucracy recognized widely as one of the greatest obstacles to 
Greece's development and growth, observers are watching closely 
Papandreou's significant attempt to re-define missions and tasks of 
large parts of the government.  Incoming prime ministers always 
reshuffle some of the existing cabinet structure, but the extent of 
Papandreou's changes is unusual in Greece.  Papandreou has 
emphasized throughout the campaign, and during his opening speech 
to his cabinet, his intention to crack down on the "pandemic" of 
 
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corruption and emphasize transparency as one of the key principles 
of his new government.  These ministerial reconfigurations, along 
with practical measures like the planned expansion of electronic 
governance, comprise important parts of this initiative.  As Greek 
commentators have noted, they also allow Papandreou to emphasize 
from the outset that his approach to government will differ from 
that of his predecessor, whom he severely criticized for allegedly 
allowing the country to stagnate.  Nevertheless, Papandreou's bold 
reconfiguration will require considerable effort to put into 
practice given deeply rooted habits and the Greek bureaucracy's 
disinclination for interagency cooperation, and this effort could 
conspire against Papandreou's ability to push forward other 
ambitious reforms. 
Speckhard