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Latest update: 30/06/2011
- bailout - debt - Economic crisis - Greece - IMF
Greek riot police battle with austerity protestors
Greek riot police clashed with angry protestors in the early hours of Thursday night, hours after Parliament approved a harsh austerity bill designed to guarantee an international bailout.
REUTERS - Greek police clashed with protesters outside parliament in the early hours of Thursday ahead of a vote expected to approve a final austerity bill needed to secure international aid and avert a debt default.
The government of Prime Minister George Papandreou, which won a first vote on Wednesday by 155 to 138 votes, expects to pass the second and final bill covering 28 billion euros in tax hikes, spending targets and privatisations agreed as part of an EU/IMF bailout.
Parliament resumes debate at 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) and the decisive vote is not expected before 2 p.m. (1100 GMT). Before the debate, it had not yet been decided whether more than one vote would be needed to pass it.
"I expect that the MPs who backed the mid-term plan will also vote for the implementation law," government spokesman Ilias Mosialos said in a television interview.
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World stocks rallied on Thursday for the third day running and the euro rose to its highest dollar level in 20 days on relief that Greece looked set to avoid the euro zone's first debt default.
The optimism was mixed with concern though over whether the government will be able to implement the unpopular cuts in practice to meet a tight schedule imposed by the EU and the IMF.
"There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the effective implementation of austerity measures, given the backdrop of increasing public anger in Greece," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.
Implementing the measures will be hard for the government, which has fallen behind the opposition in opinion polls and has faced heated criticism from its own deputies during the parliament debate.
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Unions, which paralysed the country for 48 hours earlier this week, have vowed to oppose privatisations and other austerity steps.
Anger among the Greek population was underlined by violence which on Syntagma Square outside parliament as Wednesday's votes on the first bill were being counted.
Doctors working with the demonstrators said they had treated at least 25 people for minor injuries and hundreds with respiratory problems at the adjacent Syntagma metro station. At least 40 police officers were hurt, the police union said.
Hooded youths and police fought battles into the night, choking the city centre with tear gas and smoke from petrol bombs. The protesters set fire to the post office in the building where the Finance Ministry is located, and tried to set ablaze a bank. Across the square, the luxury King George Hotel was evacuated.
Parliament must pass both bills for the European Union and International Monetary Fund to release a 12-billion-euro loan -- essential for Greece to meet debt payments in July -- under a 110-billion-euro bailout agreed in May 2010.
The laws are also needed for talks on a planned second and longer-term bailout of about the same size, which will include some 30 billion euros in private-sector participation. Locked out of bond markets, Greece needs the extra cash to avert default and keep the debt crisis from spilling over to the rest of the euro zone.
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Papandreou, who reshuffled his cabinet earlier this month to secure support for the bills, said he was determined to push through reforms.
"Today, I am more determined than ever," Papandreou said. "Now is the time to tackle everything that is wrong, with everything that hurts us, that holds us back."
Thursday's vote enables individual budget measures and creates a privatisation agency. The conservative New Democracy opposition, which voted against the first bill, said it would support some of the measures in the second.
"We will reject it in principle. However, we will support the privatisations mechanism as well as the articles on spending," said New Democracy deputy Yannis Vroutsis.
Still, analysts said the real challenge will come after the bill is voted on and the international money secured.
"The implementation law will also pass, without problems," said Costas Panagopoulos, head of ALCO pollsters. "The real question is whether Papandreou will use this vote to move forward with these crucial reforms."
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Comments (5)
pyramid scheme - fractional reserve banking
nobody understands the cause of the financial collapse unless they undersatnd the fractional reserve banking system. money used to be backed by gold - you would take your note to the bank to exchange it for your gold. then the notes became valuable in themselves, as a promise for gold, and so people didn't have to carry gold. then the bankers came up with an idea. why don't we back the notes with nothing?! well they backed them with something - debt. every dollar, euro, pound in existence has a corresponding amount of debt, thanks to the fractional reserve banking system, where when you sign a debt agreement, the bank can create 90% of the value of that agreement in credit and lend it out too. it's a money tree that grows on both sides, debt and credit, but slows down by 10% each cycle.
thing is there is more debt in circulation than credit because interest rates are higher than debt. this inequity is masked by the growth of the tree when it's growing fast (in early cycles after central-bank cash injections) but as it slows its get more and more debt-heavy. the rate of growth in the differential between the debt side and credit side is orchestrated via interest rates, so the final collapse - when there is much more debt going round than credit to pay it - comes at a time of the bankers' choosing. 2008 was the last one, 2012 the next.
when there is not enough money to pay all the debt and no cash injection - no quantitative easing - forthcoming, as there won't be on 2012 as everyone thinks the system's broke and won't lobby govt, you get a crash. people go banktupt, the banks get their land via mortgages, the banks fail, the bigger older banks buy them up, govts buy up banks, govts fall, and bankers bail out govts. it's a pyramid scheme that focuses wealth - land, gold, materials - up to the top. to the banking families that designed the FRB system in the first place.
look at the pyramid on the US $1 note. it says it all. fractional reserve banking is a pyramid scheme and as such is illegal in most western countries. try telling your govt that though - the bankers own them too! and the judges on the bench / bank / banque.
the fractional reserve banking system is designed around the universal principle of light and dark in balance, as seen in the yin-yang, caduceus, rod of thoth, double spiral etc etc. but they bent it so the darkside got stronger through the interest differential between debt and credit. under abrahamic law - islam, judaism, christianity, this is unlawful. the whole thing is illegal in the bible and statute books. it's also a conspiracy, if you hadn't already realised. but by bending universal laws those bankers are going to get their karma in a BIG WAY. and soon!
The people
My heart goes out to the people of Greece that will have to bear the brunt of this bailout. It is better, but the same here in Portland, OR, USA. There won't be as many as will be in Gteece, but there are many here who are hungry and you can see deparation in their eyes. There is more petty crime now and people are making stupid robberies to get money. A Native American woman went on foot and robbed three businesses with pepper spray. People are beginning to get growlly and snappish out in public, in the streets, becoming rude. It isn't nice here. People are hardening up for the hard times ahead. Winter is coming, I worry about affording a new coat. Since there are no jobs, I am an "Obama student." I don't know what the current exchange rate is, but I will live on $6000.00 this year. The sharp comments I have read on these stories are accurate, too be sure, but think about the Greeks and hope the people won't suffer too much.
The people
My heart goes out to the people of Greece that will have to bear the brunt of this bailout. It is better, but the same here in Portland, OR, USA. There won't be as many as will be in Gteece, but there are many here who are hungry and you can see deparation in their eyes. There is more petty crime now and people are making stupid robberies to get money. A Native American woman went on foot and robbed three businesses with pepper spray. People are beginning to get growlly and snappish out in public, in the streets, becoming rude. It isn't nice here. People are hardening up for the hard times ahead. Winter is coming, I worry about affording a new coat. Since there are no jobs, I am an "Obama student." I don't know what the current exchange rate is, but I will live on $6000.00 this year. The sharp comments I have read on these stories are accurate, too be sure, but think about the Greeks and hope the people won't suffer too much.
Not if the french have their
Not if the french have their way. In that case its for the germans to pay the piper of France, of Greece, of Italy, of ireland, of Portugal...
Until the german people are slaves to everybody and get no money for themselves any more but have to pay for french kindergardens, italian tax breaks, greek farmers etc. etc.
I used to be for the EU but it has gotten to the point where I only see every country demanding that we germans become their work-slaves and everybody deserves the money that I earn more than I deserve it myself. They call it "justice" and it means that when I earn money, then I have to give it to some other country because I do not deserve money since I am german and must be poor so others can become rich. I call it "injustice".
austerity measures
Good for him..putting these austerity measures in..now its time to pay the piper..
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