The crisis in Athens is increasingly black. The measures announced by the socialist government of Giorgos Papandreou last Monday have created a political storm. Cuts to pensions and salaries of civil servants, 50 billion privatizations, increase in taxes on consumption. A maneuver that neither the center-right opposition of Nea Demokratia nor the radical left of Syriza and the communists of the KKE like. But even within Pasok (the socialist party in power) discontent is growing. The small parliamentary majority (6 seats) appears even less certain.
The Greek newspaper "Kathimerini" underlines the solution devised by the Government to get out of the impasse: referendum. The 110 billion euros negotiated with the EU troika, the ECB and the IMF are not enough for Greece. It is estimated that another 60 are needed to isolate the Greek country from the markets until 2013. But the European partners have hinted that the purse strings will open only in the presence of a strong political consensus on the austerity package that will accompany the loan.
A "yes" vote in the referendum would allow Pasok to continue with the current draconian measures. On the other hand, a negative outcome would free the executive from the responsibility of a bankruptcy, which at that point would become almost inevitable. Hard to imagine the Greek middle class voting to cut their wages and pensions. The social context is already explosive and unemployment has reached a record level of 16%.
Meanwhile, the markets register uncertainty and punish the euro. The single currency opened in the morning at historic lows with the Swiss franc at 1,23 CHF, while on the greenback it is down around 1,40. Analysts expect markets to test the 1,38 psychological level to the downside during the week.
The words of Juergen Stark, member of the ECB board, do not slow down the fall of the euro. "We are ready to raise interest rates, if necessary," he told "Kathimerini". Observers expect the reference rate to rise by 25 points in July, to 1,5%. An intervention that would serve to extinguish inflationary hearths in Germany, but which greatly complicates the repayment of the debt for Greece and the other Pigs.
Programme
