When nostalgia overcomes reason: how the Greek diaspora perceives politics

Part of the Greek diaspora still perceives Greek politics with the same indulgence that once allowed inner dysfunction to flourish. Many approach politicians not with criticism, but with feeling – and this is what prevents change.

Visit Ioannis Loverdos to Australia showed that there is a gulf between civic maturity and political habit: outside Greece, the diaspora remains a mirror of old mistakes.

The State and the Illusion of “Free”

As recent political disputes in Francethe public debate about taxes, social benefits and budget discipline again raises the same questions that Frederic Bastiat asked almost two hundred years ago: how much can the state give – and who ultimately pays for it?

Everyone wants more support – cheaper services, more benefits, less taxes. But, as the French economist warned, “everyone wants to live at the expense of the state, forgetting that the state lives at the expense of everyone”. This simple thought cuts through the noise of modern politics. From Paris to Athens an illusion “free goods” remains one of the most enduring political fictions of our time. States promise generosity, citizens expect protection, but the bill always comes—most often to the same taxpayers who thought they were left out.

Between Bastiat and Russell

Philosopher Bertrand Russell added to this: “Power belongs to those who control finances, not to those who know how to use them.”. He warned that spending management was often entrusted to those who had neither insight nor self-restraint. Between Bastiat’s realism and Russell’s cynicism lies a common truth: political power, divorced from economic responsibility, breeds ignorance and moral fatigue.

The experience of Greece and its diaspora

The Greek experience confirms this with striking clarity. For decades, political elites spent without restraint, turning the state into a system of mutual dependencies. When the time of reckoning came in 2010, the crisis became not only financial, but also moral: society lost trust. As Bastiat wrote, “The surest way to make laws respected is to make them worthy of respect.” In Greece, laws too often became instruments of convenience rather than justice.

Against this background, the visit Ioannis Loverdos V Australia showed how this vicious circle manifests itself outside the country. The Deputy Minister for Greeks Abroad arrived with a message: “Voice is power”calling on compatriots to participate more actively in the elections. He presented voting as a civil right and a way to strengthen the importance of the diaspora for the state: “If you vote, you become more important to Greece – the state needs you more”.

The statement, while outwardly smooth and politically correct, contained quiet irony. Within the first pillar of the Greek-Australian diaspora, a network of official community bodies and church hierarchies that often “speaking on behalf of the diaspora”, but rarely from within her—the reaction was polite but uncritical. Everything followed a familiar pattern: ceremonial meetings, speeches about unity, formal applause. Beneath the surface, there is no discussion or debate about the true meaning of the visit: about representativeness, responsibility and the state of Greek democracy itself abroad.

When feeling replaces control

This quiet resignation contrasts with the political culture that many Greek-Australians display in their daily lives. In Australia, trust in government is based on scrutiny and accountability: leaders are respected as long as they are accountable. But when those same citizens encounter Greek institutions, standards change. Feeling replaces control, nostalgia softens criticism, respect for authority remains. Bastiat would probably recognize this paradox as a mild form of dependence—one that maintains the illusion of a benevolent state.

Thus, Loverdos’s visit became not just a diplomatic event, but a mirror. It showed that parts of the diaspora – despite civic maturity and participation in Australian democracy – still regard Greek politics with the same patience that once allowed the domestic system to become mired in uncontrollability. It also exposed the limitations of the “official pillars” of the diaspora, which claim to represent all Greek Australia but often serve as an extension of Athenian political theater.

The paradox of trust and transparency

This contradiction between civic vigilance in one country and resignation in another reveals a deeper cultural rift. In societies like Australia, trust is built on transparency and the testing of ideas, whereas in the Greek political tradition it is often based on ceremony, symbols and emotional commitment.

Bastiat’s message is not a call against the state, but a demand for honesty: to remember that every right comes with a responsibility, every benefit with a price. The state does not exist separately from society; it lives by it and at its expense. When citizens forget this, politics becomes theater and financial irresponsibility becomes a collective illusion.

As Russell wrote, power exercised without reflection and responsibility is a danger not only to those who exercise it, but also to the society that tolerates it.

Dr Steve Bakalis is an economist who has worked with the universities of La Trobe, Melbourne, Victoria, and universities in the Asia-Pacific and GCC regions.

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