The curious case of the guaranteed minimum income (GMI): Highlighting Greek ‘exceptionalism’ in a Southern European context

Abstract

In Greece, after many years of failure to establish a national-level guaranteed minimum income (GMI) in line with European Union (EU) recommendations, the government recently decided to try a pilot scheme. Explanations are proposed for the long-standing policy inertia and the recent change. A wider, southern European context is considered, with comparisons to Italy, Portugal and Spain. ‘Process tracing’ and an actor-centred approach examine key political and social actors and show the importance of politics and alliances in effecting different national GMI policy histories. Policy stagnation in Greece resulted largely from fractured attitudes within governing parties and lack of support for GMI from political and social actors who in other southern European countries played a crucial role in its favour. The recent Greek decision for a pilot is related to the drastic transformation in political scenery due to economic crisis and austerity.