In the area of constitutional law in Greece, where at least since 1975 there has been a well functioning democracy, the ideal of ‘modernisation’ must mean adherence to the substantive principles of legality and the rule of law as political ideals. Even though the Simitis government showed some concern for improvement in these areas, the constitutional amendment of 2001 did not attempt to tackle longstanding problems such as civil service corruption, irregularities in public procurement, the independence of the judiciary and the like. The amendment was motivated, it seems, by a more majoritarian ‘communitarian’ legal philosophy seeking to strengthen political majorities.