Greece is still struggling to swallow the bitter austerity pills prescribed by its creditors. And the doctor in charge of this operation, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, is finding his job extremely tough. Tens of thousands marched in Greece on Thursday and scuffled with the police demanding an end to the austerity plans imposed by the government under orders from its international creditors. The protest comes as the Greek government and its creditors are talking to review the $91.6bn bailout agreed in July after six months of bitter talks that nearly saw Greece exit the euro. The heads of the European Union and International Monetary Fund mission assessing Greece’s progress are in Athens to discuss the pension plan, tax reforms and bad loans weighing on Greek banks.
What Athens witnessed was the largest protest since the leftist prime minister came to power just over a year ago and reflects the growing bitterness and anger of Greeks. About 50,000 people marched peacefully on parliament in central Athens and black clad youths hurled stones and petrol bombs at police, who responded with teargas and stun grenades. The protestors were mainly venting their anger at the pensions reforms, a key part of Greece’s economic bailout. This particular clause has sparked a major backlash against embattled Tsipras, who is now stuck between either pushing the reforms through to appease international creditors and get the full aid, or attracting the wrath of thousands of Greeks. He is likely to choose the latter because that is a better option.
Greeks have said goodbye to the worst of the pain caused by the economic crisis, and going through the rest of the treatment, however painful it is, is necessary for a complete recovery. The prime minister knows this. Tsipras had at first challenged the creditors due to public fury, threatening not to succumb to their austerity demands, but finally caved in under the threat of expulsion from the euro zone, as it would have brought more financial misery, and signed up to sweeping reforms under an EU-IMF bailout package worth up to $91.6bn. The creditors are highly unlikely to go back on their demands. In Washington, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Greece’s pension system was not sustainable and needed to be reformed.
But for hundreds of thousands of Greeks, the pension reforms will be a ticket to financial hardship. The government is planning to lower the maximum pension to 2,300 euros per month from 2,700 euros currently and introduce a new minimum guaranteed basic pension of 384 euros.
Tsipras needs to address their problems within the confines of the deal with the creditors.
Greece is still struggling to swallow the bitter austerity pills prescribed by its creditors. And the doctor in charge of this operation, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, is finding his job extremely tough. Tens of thousands marched in Greece on Thursday and scuffled with the police demanding an end to the austerity plans imposed by the government under orders from its international creditors. The protest comes as the Greek government and its creditors are talking to review the $91.6bn bailout agreed in July after six months of bitter talks that nearly saw Greece exit the euro. The heads of the European Union and International Monetary Fund mission assessing Greece’s progress are in Athens to discuss the pension plan, tax reforms and bad loans weighing on Greek banks.
What Athens witnessed was the largest protest since the leftist prime minister came to power just over a year ago and reflects the growing bitterness and anger of Greeks. About 50,000 people marched peacefully on parliament in central Athens and black clad youths hurled stones and petrol bombs at police, who responded with teargas and stun grenades. The protestors were mainly venting their anger at the pensions reforms, a key part of Greece’s economic bailout. This particular clause has sparked a major backlash against embattled Tsipras, who is now stuck between either pushing the reforms through to appease international creditors and get the full aid, or attracting the wrath of thousands of Greeks. He is likely to choose the latter because that is a better option.
Greeks have said goodbye to the worst of the pain caused by the economic crisis, and going through the rest of the treatment, however painful it is, is necessary for a complete recovery. The prime minister knows this. Tsipras had at first challenged the creditors due to public fury, threatening not to succumb to their austerity demands, but finally caved in under the threat of expulsion from the euro zone, as it would have brought more financial misery, and signed up to sweeping reforms under an EU-IMF bailout package worth up to $91.6bn. The creditors are highly unlikely to go back on their demands. In Washington, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Greece’s pension system was not sustainable and needed to be reformed.
But for hundreds of thousands of Greeks, the pension reforms will be a ticket to financial hardship. The government is planning to lower the maximum pension to 2,300 euros per month from 2,700 euros currently and introduce a new minimum guaranteed basic pension of 384 euros.
Tsipras needs to address their problems within the confines of the deal with the creditors.
