Greeks protest again as leaders back further budget cuts

Monday, November 12, 2012
By Paul Martin

Tens of thousands voice anger at second set of austerity measures in a week

NATHALIE SAVARICAS
IndependentUK
SUNDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2012

Greece endorsed a painful 2013 budget of spending cuts demanded by its international creditors, as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Athens to vent their anger at the government’s handling of the financial crisis.

The budget, which includes sweeping cuts to pensions, wages and social services, is the second of two crucial steps Greece has taken in the past week in an effort to persuade the International Monetary Fund and other Eurozone countries to release the next €31.3bn tranche of bailout funds. A comfortable majority, 167 lawmakers of the 300 seat Parliament, voted for the budget late last night.

“We took a decisive step with greater unity, from now on: recovery and growth,” said Premier Antonis Samaras after the vote.

However, in Syntagma Square near the city’s parliament building last night, protesters chanted slogans such as “Take your bail out and leave”, while others held banners that read “Plan B: yes to work, and no to the Euro” and “Down with the junta of Prime Minister Samaras”. Crowds were far less than last Wednesday, when at least 80,000 protesters had gathered to oppose the country’s latest package of austerity measures, worth €13.5bn, also demanded by the country’s creditors. Despite much debate over whether they would accept the measures, Greek MPs narrowly passed the package, and two of the ruling parties – New Democracy and PASOK – expelled seven MPs for voting against it.

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