ABSTRACT
December 2000 does not feel like a terminal point for this history, but rather like the middle of various intriguing developments. Where will they lead?
One question is: can the government make sufficient progress towards its goals of financial recovery and structural reforms in the economy? Its sense of triumph was short-lived after June 2000, when Greece qualified for inclusion in EMU. The government still confronted its long-term tasks, and the impression of indecision and exhaustion which it now gives can be explained by their appalling difficulty. As the opposition parties cannot convince anyone that they can do better, there is a vacuum of leadership, which is provoking a level of public disillusionment with both major parties which is high even by the standards of recent years.1
