Dozens have died in the last 15 years as a result of police violence. Between 2003 and 2007, 337 police officers were indicted for assaulting members of the public and even murder. However, only two officers were expelled from the force and there was only one conviction. (To digress briefly, in recent years the unusual phenomenon of displays of solidarity between anti-establishment and criminal circles has emerged. Some anti-establishment activists have expressed sympathy for those they term‘social robbers’. For one famous escaped convict, in particular, there is a special sympathy in anti-establishment circles, while some individuals who seem to shift between the two groups during their time in prison are described as‘hostages of the state’. Collaboration between the two groups has also been seen in a number of bank robberies.) The Paralysis of the Main Parties The overriding tragedy concerning the youth unrest, however, is that the government appears not to understand that a new situation is emerging and is still talking about ‘extremist elements’ inciting others or‘groups striving for social upheaval’,‘elements attacking democracy that must be isolated politically and socially’. It is as if the whole thing involves merely a few dozen people. The government lacks even the courage of its convictions. Its members are jostling to be included in the upcoming reshuffle, even as opinion polls already give PASOK a 4- to 5­point lead. The main opposition party has taken a low­key approach to the unrest, in the belief that it can profit from the government's parlous situation and hoping that it will‘fall like a ripe fruit’. On PASOK's side, too, there has been no effort to analyse the phenomenon in its true dimensions. There is‘civil war’ between the two parties of the Left, KKE and SYRIZA. The dogmatic Communist Party(KKE) panicked, as always, in the face of the uncontrolled movement of young protestors and replied with its own mass – and strictly guarded – rallies, while accusing SYRIZA of'telling the hoodies what they wanted to hear'. SYRIZA has tried to attract supporters from among the protesters. It categorically refuses to condemn them. At the same time, it has no concrete political proposals to offer. Thus, a new generation is being allowed to become politicised largely on the basis of the view that police stations are‘the state’ and that politics can be summed up by the slogan ‘police, pigs, murderers’. Essentially, the political parties have not functioned properly or generated ideas and programmes for a long time now in Greece. For this reason, they have no substantial proposals to present to an insurgent youth. Even more, the centre-left – in other words, PASOK – and the two parties of the Left are not in a position to act as ideological and organisational'beacons' for a youth that has been swept away by rage and despair. A fundamental component of today's political scene are the media, which have not yet become a target for the rebels. The electronic media in particular, and especially the private media, have again proved their moral corruption and bias. They have competed fiercely in exaggerated terms to cultivate fear and a lust for violence, concealing the truth and dispensing populism. Having never previously shown any interest in young people the media are now falling over themselves to‘give a voice’ to 15-year-olds. The same people appear daily on Greek television – for which they are paid – and comment on everything, from scandals to environmental issues, new drugs and international developments. The same people are now being called upon to comment on the youth protests, based, of course, on their own commitments, political, economic, professional and even personal. The protests took everyone by surprise, especially the rage of so many young people. It is clear that there are no specific demands or a programme. Social attitudes towards the protesters are equally contradictory. On the one hand, public opinion condemns the violence and the looting and is against the