Konstantinos Sourmelis, a 56-year-old technician for OSE, Greece’s state-owned railway, marched to central Athens on Wednesday to send parliament a simple message: Stop selling out the country. Like the thousands of other demonstrators who protested in the country’s latest general strike, Sourmelis accuses the government of scapegoating OSE and public utilities as part of its proposed privatization plan, the next in a string of attempts to raise the billions that Greece owes foreign creditors. “In the long run, it’s going to hurt workers,” says Sourmelis, who makes about $2,000 a month and is worried about losing his job. “I don’t see the austerity measures working, so what difference will it make if we sell off our assets? Won’t we just be giving away our autonomy for nothing?”
The demonstration on Wednesday was mostly peaceful, though at one point at least three people were injured in clashes between police and left-wing protesters. But Greeks still live with the ghosts of the protests that were held last May, when fringe anarchists firebombed a bank and killed three employees, including a pregnant woman. Earlier that month, Greece’s government had received more than $150 billion in loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to avoid defaulting on $400 billion in sovereign debt. To get the loan, the government had to introduce tough austerity measures that would hurt in the short term but eventually, it was hoped, put the nation back into the black. At the time, some responded with violence. One year on, most Greeks are still not convinced that the pain will pay off. And neither are the international markets that Greece so badly needs on its side.
The mixture of cuts and tax hikes has succeeded in trimming the deficit by 5% — an impressive performance in a time of recession, economists say. But the austerity measures have also worsened the recession, now in its third year. And because of slumping output and rising unemployment, currently at 15.1%, the markets are still jittery, worried that Greece won’t be able to pay back the loans it took out a year ago. European Union leaders had been discussing another bailout for Greece, but are backing off for now. Still, E.U. leaders are international inspectors are pressing Greece to make stronger reforms. “The results of the past year have actually been mixed, with both good and bad developments. The markets react to the debt, which is still high,” says George Pagoulatos, a professor of political economy at Athens University of Economics and Business. “We have a long way to go before we recover.”
On Monday, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s rating again, making it the lowest-rated country in Europe along with Belarus. The move followed a weekend of media speculation around an incendiary — and largely inaccurate — report on the website of German newsweekly Der Spiegel that said Greece was planning to leave the euro zone. European leaders and the Greek government have categorically denied the report, with the Greeks calling it “nearly criminal.”
