Senior research fellow of the Greek observatory of London Economy and Political Sciences school, James Kerr Lindsay, specially for Trend
There are a number of factors that can explain the events, each of which explains the behavior of a certain group. The anarchists just oppose authority. However, youth unemployment and a general lack of prospects is certainly one important element.
However, there is also widespread
opposition to economic reform in Greece, which serves as a motivating factor on
the left. Meanwhile, their is also extreme anger about the prevalence of
corruption in the country, both at the highest levels of the central government
as well as the corruption that pervades day-to-day life in Greece.
It is hard to say whether the government will fall. Certainly, there is a
feeling that the government will find it difficult to survive, especially as it
has a one-seat majority in the parliament. Various ideas have been put forward,
including new elections or even a government of national unity. The trouble is
that is would be difficult to pinpoint a figure who might be acceptable to all
sides.
In terms of identifying who is behind these
events, the problem is that there is not one particular group or organisation
at work. What we have seen in Greece is what one might refer to as a perfect
storm. A set of circumstances has arisen that has seen a number of very
different groups come together to protest. As some have pointed out, the
protests have managed to unite wildly different sections of society:
disaffected youth, unions, the middle classes. The shooting that started it all
served to unleash the pent up anger that had been building over many years, if
not decades.
Regarding the way in which the government has dealt with the crisis, some have argued that the government was too soft on the protestors at the start. The police should have adopted tougher tactics. However, while this would have quelled the situation, it would have perpetuated the deep-rooted hatred of the police across Greek society. The problem is that by not clamping down quickly on the anarchists, the situation spiralled out of control.
As for stabilizing the situation, it is likely that the protests will eventually die down of their own accord. The problem is that the underlying factors will remain in place. What is needed is a major reform of the economic and political system. However, this is very hard to achieve. While everyone recognizes that the system is broken, no one wants to take the hard decision to mend it. Economic reform is bitterly opposed by many within society. From this perspective, it is hard to see how things will improve in the medium term.
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