Patience and good sense

This column has argued from the outset, as have others, that the migration/refugee crisis is an incredibly difficult if not unsolvable problem. This became abundantly apparent when the inflows shot up again after the elections last July, genuinely taking the then new government of New Democracy by surprise. It had also argued that the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan was exploiting the waves of refugees and migrants, first and foremost to cause chaos in Greece and challenge its internal unity, and secondly to threaten Europe.

Judging by recent developments, these observations are, unfortunately, justified. The reactions of residents and local government officials on the eastern Aegean islands, on the one hand, and the desperate measures being adopted by the government - if not the whole political system - on the other, are proof of the magnitude of the problem, the...