Bending the rules
The flexibility with which laws are implemented has been a fundamental cause for concern in Greece during the post-dictatorship era.
Everything becomes a subject for negotiation, even in cases when the legislation is crystal-clear and backed by irrevocable court decisions.
An example of this is the case of a Roma encampment in the northern Athenian suburb of Halandri which was set to be demolished on Tuesday. The decision to postpone the demolition came after protests from camp residents and local authority representatives. This is nothing new.
The free-for-all culture has been allowed to become something of an institution and will be hard to change. Add to this governments’ lack of political will to take any kind of risk and impose the law and the road is paved for a prevalence of lawlessness on every level.
