After eight months in power the government finds itself in a rough patch as it must grapple with a variety of intractable issues at once.

It must wage battles on a number of fronts in an unstable international environment with constant vicissitudes and with the main opposition party on the attack on various important issues.

There is a heightened backlash over its handling of the refugee-migrant crisis.

Tensions arising from the abolition of university asylum are rising.

The coronavirus threat (the first case in Greece was identified today in Thessaloniki) poses a huge challenge to the National Health System and to what is ostensibly the government’s strong suit – the recovery of the Greek economy.

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras stated recently that projections about the economy take into account the coronavirus and other serious dangers such as the sudden adjustment of global financial markets, a possible rise in geopolitical tensions, and an intensification of the refugee crisis.

The government is obliged to demonstrate here and now how ready and capable it is to handle intractable and complex problems.

Much will be determined by the outcome of these battles.

The moment of truth has arrived.

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