The Greek political landscape is extremely hot. The € 6.6 billions manoeuvre, launched on October 2, is the compensation for the €110 billions loan in three years promised by the European Union. Cuts of 30 thousands public employees are expected by the end of the year (in order to reach 150 thousands by 2015), a wage reduction from 20% to 40% concerning the public sector, baby-pension cuts, the introduction of new taxes on primary goods, such as houses, starting from 2012. However, it could not be sufficient in order to recover from the crisis: the EU, the IMF and the ECB are demanding Greece additional efforts, among which are the revision of private sector’s national collective contracts and the resulting minimum wage threshold’s reduction by 2013, currently equal to € 750 per month.
In exchange of these austerity measures, the Greek government will receive, by the end of this month, the sixth tranche of economic aid (€ 8 billions) that would allow the country to fulfil pensions and wages payments of its 750 thousands public employees. The green light to get the funding, that would ease the country’s dramatic situation, is expected by the next October 13. The prime minister Papandreu, who could not resort to monetary devaluation shortcut, should turn to strict manoeuvres in order to cheer up markets and investors, to restore public accounts, since these goals have been already missed in the two-year period 2011-2012, and to relaunch the growth through structural reforms that Greece lacks in years.
The truth is that, for the first time after world war II, we are facing a difficult decision between economic stability and human rights protection. It is beyond doubt that wages and pensions cuts are fuelling serious social outburst, where two different points of view are clashing: on the one hand, the private sector blame the public one for inefficiencies and waste; on the other hand, public employees, complaining about tax evasion and politic corruption, keep on striking. In these days, Greece has to prove its credibility and the suitability of its government.
On the inside: