Unnecessary tension

None of the mainstream political parties would deny that Greece’s penal code needs to be seriously update and revised. It is not an issue that needs to turned into a fresh arena of political confrontation.

Nevertheless, the way the government has gone ahead with the issue and the incendiary comments made by some of its lawmakers have added unnecessary tension to something that should have been a procedural matter. It did the same thing with the constitutional reform.

The difference is that with the criminal code there is still time to save some of the hard work that has been done over the years and to ensure that certain incredibly provocative and inexplicable changes – such as those on the manufacture and possession of explosive devices and on criminal groups – do not pass.