A crucial face-off

The grim routine of contract killings and bombings shows that organized crime in Greece is booming. It has spread its tentacles so far that it is even gripping institutions and critical services of the state – first and foremost the police. 

It is not only a matter of security, but also of institutional order to dismantle these networks, before they achieve the power of a state within a state. The effort that is beginning with the restructuring of the security services to create a body that will have the sufficiency to confront the mafias is a big challenge, not only for the government, but for legitimacy and transparency in the country.