The scourge of the small protest

Rallies staged by small groups of protesters which bring the Greek capital to a standstill for hours on end have again started to become an frustratingly common occurrence.

Athens is one of the very few cities where a group of, say, 20-30 individuals has the power to paralyze the downtown area, causing trouble for workers, visitors and motorists alike.

Perhaps it's time that Greece's political parties and municipal and police authorities reached a compromise solution that will finally put an end to this phenomenon.

Greece's ruling leftists have traditionally been against any restrictions on public protest. Now that they've seen these demonstrations from a different point of view, maybe they'll finally agree to measures to contain this ailing phenomenon of the post-dictatorship era.