Greek austerity measures come under German scrutiny

(Vatican Radio) Strong police forces cordoned off the centre of Athens this morning as Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, made his first-ever visit to Greece for a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

The visit came after Parliament agreed overnight to more austerity measures.
Listen to Vatican Radio's correspondent In Athens, John Carr's report…

All motor vehicles were banned from an area of a few square kilometres, while police snipers patrolled the roof of the Parliament building. The wheelchair-bound Schäuble has gained an iconic status as the classic hard-hearted German responsible for Greece’s economic woes, and consequently is the man the local media love to hate.
Schäuble arrived just hours after the Parliament here in Athens endorsed a wide-ranging economic and administrative reform programme that will sack or reassign at least 15,000 civil servants over the next two years. This is in order to get the latest bailout instalment of 8.1 billion euros, the latest in a total package of 240 billion euros set to run out at the end of next year.
Schäuble himself was conciliatory to his Greek hosts, telling a Greek-German business audience that Germany intends to invest in clean energy projects – but, as long as Greece continues on the austerity road. Neither he nor Samaras want to give the impression of cracking a whip, but nonetheless, that’s just what a lot of Greeks are hearing.
Last night’s parliamentary vote on the administrative reform bill was close – it passed by a majority of just three in the 300-seat chamber, as Samaras’s coalition of conservatives and socialists strong-armed their deputies to keep them in line. The opposition on the far left and far right joined forces to slam what they called the government’s meek submission to German control.
So as Greeks start to think about their holidays – and a great many now cannot afford a holiday in the first place – they could take some comfort from the next bailout tranche. But it’s only making Greece’s debt bigger and less sustainable.