Greece’s new austerity and bailout measures were voted in by a narrow majority
in the national Parliament in the early hours of Thursday morning, following a stormy
debate and clashes in the streets. The measures passed by 153 votes to 128 against
and 18 abstentions. Prime Minister Samaras’s pro-European New Democracy party with
the help of most of the deputies of the socialist Pasok party saw the measures through.
But during the debate Wednesday evening, rioters hurled petrol bombs spiked with explosive.
The police replied with water cannon in the square outside the Parliament building.
Samaras made an impassioned appeal for the salary and pension-slashing measures, saying
they were necessary if Greece was not to slide out of the eurozone and into chaos.
On the other side of the chamber, the leftwing Syriza party denounced the measures
as impoverishing the Greek people, and unconstitutional as well. A small coalition
partner, the Democratic Left party, abstained, in effect voting against the government
of which it’s a member. The actual debate was hot and heavy, derailed at one
point by Parliament workers protesting the planned abolition of their special salary
status. The government hurriedly backed down on that one, earning the scorn of many
media commentators here in Athens. Few were expecting the measures to be actually
thrown out. After all, on them hangs Greece’s chances of getting a vital 31 and a
half billion euros’ tranche of bailout aid. But judging from the ugly mood of the
Greek public, and the bare majority of three that voted for the new round of austerity,
most people feel that tolerance for the Samaras government has been stretched very
thin.
Listen to the report by Athens correspondent John Carr: