One way, no way

Political leaders have failed, parties are bickering, voters are rebelling, and deep domestic divisions are making it impossible to enact austerity plans and economic reforms. Who wouldn’t understand that Greece and Italy might go for the so-called “technocratic” governments? They are supposed to do what is necessary to balance budgets and lay the foundations for stronger growth. But, the technocracy panacea is a dangerous delusion. You can’t take politics out of government.

In Europe, the idea that Reason (with a capital r) should rise above petty human passions is as old as Robespierre. It reflects the same contempt for democracy as the French 18th century revolutionary leader showed and leads to failure, or terror, or both. After governments have proven unable to redress years of their own economic and fiscal neglect, the notion that a team of competent and enlightened financiers, engineers or scholars can tell the people what is good for them is tempting. But, it is both dangerous and impractical.

In contemporary Europe, the ideal “technocratic” prime minister is a senior civil servant with no strong political affiliation and a few years of experience in a senior role at an international institution — so he can pass for impartial and untainted by his own country’s political crisis. But, technocratic governments can, at best, deal with marginal technical decisions. They can tinker with the VAT here and cut marginal spending there. Long-term structural changes — think pensions, labour markets, tax overhauls — are political matters, which need to be debated. Tough reforms must be underpinned by strong political legitimacy. A technocracy cannot provide what a national unity government would.

On most reforms, there are different possible ways to proceed, with different risks, and different economic and social consequences. The technocratic fallacy is that there’s only one road to a brighter future. Fortunately, life is more complicated. There’s no substitute for good politics.