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Greek PM presses austerity plan, vows to fight graft
Harry Papachristou and Renee Maltezou
ATHENS
Thu May 6, 2010 11:09am EDT
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ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's prime minister urged the nation on Thursday to accept draconian budget cuts that have spurred tens of thousands into the streets in protest and promised to heed their call for a crackdown on corruption.
World | Greece
Speaking to lawmakers a day after some 50,000 Greeks marched in Athens and a petrol bomb attack killed three workers in a bank, George Papandreou said there was no time to lose in reforming a broken economy whose debt and deficit problems have put the entire 16-nation euro zone at risk.
"The emergency measures are the condition for us to regain our credibility and win time, lost time. The time to make the big changes that were delayed for years," he said.
"We wouldn't be here, we wouldn't be asking Greeks for these sacrifices, if this looting hadn't taken place," he added, accusing the previous conservative government of systematic corruption that pushed Greece to the brink of bankruptcy.
Parliament is due to vote late on Thursday on an austerity bill which foresees 30 billion euros ($40 billion) of new deficit-reduction measures, including deep cuts in public sector bonuses which will slash pay for a fifth of the workforce.
The main conservative and leftist opposition parties have said they will vote against the bill, which should not get in the way of its passage but has doomed government hopes of establishing a broad political consensus for the measures.
"The government supports the bill and will pass it but we are obliged to reject it," said Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy party, which ruled Greece for the five years before Papandreou's Socialists took power in October.
MORE PROTESTS PLANNED
Greece's main public and private sector unions, whose strikes on Wednesday grounded flights, shut shops and brought public transport to a standstill, planned to demonstrate in front of parliament on Thursday evening.
Dozens of Athenians flocked to the site of the Marfin bank branch on Stadiou Avenue in central Athens, laying flowers at the entrance of the blackened building where three employees choked to death at the height of the Wednesday march.
More than 50 people were injured in Wednesday's clashes and 25 have been arrested for attacking police and damaging shops.
While people in the streets denounced the deaths as a tragedy, nobody was in a mood to rein in protests, which have been fueled by outrage that corrupt politicians responsible for the country's woes are not being punished.
Thousands of protesters chanted "Thieves, Thieves!" outside parliament on Wednesday.
"People are right to react and they should continue to protest because these measures are unfair," said Pinelopi Darmi, a 20-year-old university student. "They hurt the poor only and let those responsible for the crisis get away with it."
Papandreou appeared to have heard those calls, warning that Greece's democratic institutions had been taken over by special interests and vowing to punish corrupt politicians.
"We will send and we must send cases (of corruption) to the prosecutor," he said. "This is what Greek people demand."
His government has talked often about justice and transparency since taking power last year, but no politicians have been prosecuted yet and the public is losing patience.
Thanassis Nazaris, an elderly shop owner, said he expected protests to build after Greeks return from summer breaks and find they do not have enough money to live.
"Things will get worse. Wait till autumn, we will be devouring each other," he said.
Despite the risks, University of Athens professor Kostas Ifantis predicted that the government would stick with the measures, which are being pushed through in exchange for 110 billion euros ($148 billion) in aid from the EU and IMF.
"What can they do, scrap the whole program?" he said. "I don't think so. They have no choice, there is no choice."
(Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos; writing by Noah Barkin; editing by Andrew Roche)
World
Greece
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May 06, 2010 10:14am EDT
The Greeks need to face the facts. While this is a bitter pill, it is necessary. We wish them the very best in resolving this problem. While other countries are more than willing to help, in the end, it is the Greeks that must solve the problem.
Willie12345
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May 06, 2010 10:18am EDT
Would someone be so kind as to explain what would happen if Greece defaulted? Would it be less expensive for the country to default, or to pay back its debt? Is there any advantage one way or the other? Should they take on more debt in the hopes of being able to pay it back with interest even though they are on the brink of collapse?
Being such a small country, couldn’t their debts be forgiven? And if this was the result of corruption should the citizens be left on the hook for it?
Benny_Acosta
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May 06, 2010 10:24am EDT
The Greek austerity plan may be a recovery model for other Western democracies in the future. For example, the US state of California (and other states to follow) may be confronted with similar austerity measures in the coming months. How might Californians react to such measures…? More at:
http://wjmc.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-would-californians-react-to.html
Thanks for the opportunity to comment…
mckibbinusa
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May 06, 2010 10:44am EDT
This is exactly what the US should do. Cut Gov’t budgets by 10-20% across the board. It is a bitter pill, but it’s one we need as well…..espescialy the way Obama spends $$……
Voteoutincumb
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May 06, 2010 10:48am EDT
Benny – Just for starters, if Greece defaults, do you think they will ever be able to issue debt again? At at what cost? 20%? Would you buy it?
And just forgive the debt! lol Nice precedent being set there. The US should do the same then…..and everyone else in the world. Screw it! All debt is forgiven everywhere, were all at zero again! ya!!
Your a Demacrat, right? LMAO I’m non-partisian by the way, not a Republician.
Voteoutincumb
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May 06, 2010 10:49am EDT
Despite what the prime minister’s rhetorics the bill will not be applicable in practice. The measures will kill the Greek economy and the Greek people will not allow that to happen.
alderman
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May 06, 2010 11:00am EDT
Voteoutincumb
I was actually asking a question. And you didn’t answer it. You laugh at debt forgiveness. But if you owed lots of money, you would be only too happy to accept that forgiveness. If everyone forgave their debts, you are correct that we would all be at zero and able to start over.
I’m an independent by the way. I just see the financial system as a merely a system. If a system is broken, you halt it, fix it, and start over. You don’t put people’s lives through a grinder just because some corrupt people want a payday.
Perhaps someone with an UNDERSTANDING of the situation would be kind enough to answer my questions. That obviously isn’t you.
Benny_Acosta
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May 06, 2010 11:17am EDT
I find amazing that people keep refering to the need for reforms. Greek people don’t dismiss the need for budget cuts… But they want the effort to be fairly shared… the problem of the reforms is that it appears highly unfair. e.g.: it looks like if taxation of higher revenues has not even been discussed… It’s a recuring theme all over the globe. In my view, as long as this crucial problem of widening gap between richest and average tax payer has not been addressed, there will be more and more unrest in Europe and elsewhere. I am leaving in a different planet? Looks so obvious to me that I am wondering if I missed something here…
Chris27
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May 06, 2010 11:37am EDT
can Bill Gates or Warren Buffett buy Greece?
Everyone needs to go back to the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid). If u don’t have money you don’t buy or spend. Those who have bought or spent beyond their means need to be stripped of all their possessions and kicked out to the curbside. This applies to individuals, organizations, and governments. Why should the responsible pay for the idiots?
dogdays2000
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