OPINION

Citizens suffer cost of whims

No one knows what were the demands the 50 demonstrators who closed off Syngrou Avenue yesterday, discomfiting thousands of commuters. And no one will go to the trouble of finding out. Everyone simply had to suffer the consequences – the drivers waiting in the scorching sun for the peculiar spectacle to end and the demonstrators themselves. The rise of public protests has had the opposite effect of what was the organizers’ aim – not only have the citizens left their side but they have also turned against them. Protests are supposed to be an opportunity for certain social groups to declare their demands. And when we say groups, no one means clusters of 30 or 50 people who are willing to shut down the heart of Athens on a whim. Unfortunately, this has become the rule. On a daily basis, a tiny number of people do their revolutionary gymnastics at the expense of thousands of Athenians. It seems that the objective of the union bureaucrats is not the satisfaction of their demands but increasing citizens’ hardships. This has got to stop, either by the power of persuasion or by law.

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