OPINION

Panic is making it worse

We have obviously lost every last shred of moderation when it comes to discussing serious issues.

The prime minister, In the grips of complete panic, announced yesterday that he will be introducing a draft law that will forbid the sale of state-owned assets and real estate unless it is first approved by Parliament.

This was George Papandreou?s way of responding to the wave of hysteria that broke out when the troika representatives suggested that the state sell off some of its assets to raise funds, which was taken as being a step toward ceding national sovereignty. These people also forgot that ever since 2010 state-owned property can be developed in a variety of ways that do not necessarily involve a change in ownership.

This sort of confusion is what happens when a government is ashamed of supporting its decisions and allows itself to appear as an instrument of the troika that has no will of its own. The problem with knee-jerk reactions is that they not only fail to solve problems, but, instead, cause even more. Some levelheadedness would not go amiss right now.

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