Does it include economic development and social cohesion? Is it related to the protection of critical infrastructures and network security? After 45 years in the EEC/EU and the provision of tens of billions of euros (from Structural Funds, NSRF, RRF), our country should meet the basic criteria to be characterized as “European.” However, Greece not only is not a “European country” in 2025, but in recent years it has been flirting with the title of “Pariah State.”
The decision to write this work resulted from the realization that Greece, as a 200-year-old state entity, lacks the Institutions or Structures necessary for Public Administration and Justice to function. At the same time, where rudimentary Institutions exist (Ministries, Services, Regions, Local Government Organizations, Independent Authorities, etc.), they are characterized in each case by four phenomena: a) understaffing, b) underfunding, c) corruption, d) lack of strategy.
The more the writing of the book progressed, the more our initial perception of a “pariah state” was confirmed. Whether due to delays in implementing EU Directives, bureaucracy, Turkophobia, corruption, or ignorance and lack of culture, the basic functions of the State exist only on paper. As a result, Greece pays: a) fines and b) a blood tax.
From the OPEKEPE case to the Tempi tragedy, from waste management in Mati to Marine Spatial Planning in Libya. Greece hurts and bleeds us every day, while dozens of cases are under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office or have taken the path to justice. We chose an allegorical title for this work, “WONDERLAND” (“ΧΩΡΑ ΘΑΥΜΑΤΩΝ”), which can also be read as “COUNTRY OF (MARTYRS)”.
In a State that operates on the basis of “let’s see what happens” without strategy and long-term planning, that waits for European subsidies and grants to finance its basic functions, that considers Turkish reactions even on issues at the very core of state sovereignty, “WONDERLAND” is a punch in the stomach of the voter-taxpayer citizen. A book that is a mirror of modern Greece, which every Greek man and woman should read, especially those who do not want to live in this country ...by chance!
