Workers walk out again as Greek crisis talks continue
Greece was hit by another wave of protest strikes today as Prime Minister George Papandreou held talks with European leaders looking for more support over the debt crisis.
Workers protesting painful state spending cuts closed down hospitals, schools and public transport.
The strikes come as parliament votes on a new €4.75bn austerity package that will raise consumer taxes and slash pay for public sector workers by up to 8%.
The centre-left government is seeking a total €15.9bn in savings this year, to reduce a budget deficit.
Seeking a pledge of assistance, Mr Papandreou was meeting in Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of an informal group of eurozone finance ministers. He was also holding talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Despite raising €4.97bn from a successful bond issue yesterday, Athens remains under intense pressure from high borrowing rates. Mr Papandreou has annoyed Europe by warning that Greece could request financial help from the International Monetary Fund unless the EU details potential emergency support.
He insists Greece is not seeking bailout money from the EU but a public commitment to a financial rescue plan that would reassure markets.
Mr Papandreou will also discuss the debt crisis with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Sunday, and meet US President Barack Obama on March 9 in Washington.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that President Sarkozy would back Greece if its debt woes got it into real trouble.
She said she expects Mr Sarkozy will tell him that France would be there if Greece got into real difficulties. She did not explain what form that support would take.
Hundreds of Communist-affiliated unionists gathered today for a central Athens rally against the new measures, chanting “Greece is not Ireland, the rich must pay for the crisis,” in reference to the Irish government’s tough austerity program.
State schools were closed, hospitals functioned with emergency staff and all Athens public transport was idle, while an air traffic controllers strike cancelled dozens of flights.
More protest rallies are planned in Athens and other Greek cities, to demand that the government takes back some of the measures.
