Greece in revolt against Tsipras. Protests and demonstrations are in many squares of the country. The Greek Prime Minister is facing the third general strike called by Greek trade unions in the last three months. The Athens Stock Exchange closed sharply down with -7,87%, after a minimum of 8,59%, reaching a 25-year low of 464,23 points. Above all, the declines of the banks weighed down the performance of the Athens Stock Exchange: the sector index dropped 24,25%.
The pension reform announced in January and envisaged as part of the plan requested by the troika (EU, IMF and ECB) in exchange for the new 86 billion euro aid program negotiated in July, risks costing Alexis Tsipras dearly who, in the eyes of the citizens, it seems to have betrayed the promises made during the electoral campaign.
The reform – which has the main purpose of saving 1,8 billion euros a year (1% of GDP) – provides for the reduction from 2700 to 2300 euros of the maximum monthly amount and a minimum of 384 euros. The various pension funds will be unified and rationalised, while the amount of contributions paid by workers will rise. Social security payments exceeding 750 euros will be cut by 15%, a cut that will also reach 30% on the highest pensions.
The Syriza government is once again between two fires, on the one hand social protest on the other international pressure. The parliamentary majority for him is increasingly small and the risk of "surprises" is getting higher day by day. Again in 2016, Greece therefore finds itself at the center of international attention.
In fact, politicians and investors fear that the pension reform could deal the fatal blow to the Executive led by Tsipras, a hypothesis which, unlike what happened in 2015, is now considered negative by EU leaders.
