Government calibrating response to protests

Four months ahead of the elections for the European Parliament, the government is faced with a wave of protests that sometimes turn violent over a number of issues, such as education reforms, farming and the same-sex marriage legislation.

The European elections will affect domestic politics only to the extent that they will serve as a sort of referendum on the first year of the conservative government's second four-year term. But government officials are anxious to see the ruling New Democracy's domination affirmed and not eroded by a disgruntled electorate.

So far, the government has chosen to soft-pedal its response; protests against the planned setup of private universities, and the occupation of public ones, have been met with a relatively mild response, arranging for exams to be conducted online, for example, and sending police to intervene only on occasions...