Key Greek austerity vote passes

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/key-greek-austerity-vote-passes-134028804.html;_ylt=Ask\

4QSv3i_LX3HUD3DU4wK8rssB_;_ylu=X3oDMTNhajQ1M2E1BHBrZwNkMWQwY2VhMC1jODgyLTM4OGUtY\

TRiNS0xYjU2ZDVhMTNlZTkEcG9zAzIEc2VjA01lZGlhSnVtYm90cm9uBHZlcgMxMTdlZWMyMC1hMjU3L\

TExZTAtYWRkZC1kMTA2NGVhMTk1MWQ-;_ylg=X3oDMTFqdGtvY2JtBGludGwDY2EEbGFuZwNlbi1jYQR\

wc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZARwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

Key Greek austerity vote passes

CBC – 2 hours 2 minutes ago

Greek legislators voted to accept Wednesday a deeply unpopular austerity bill

that has provoked days of rioting in the streets of Athens.

Having passed the $40 billion austerity bill, Greek lawmakers must turn their

focus to an additional bill to be voted on Thursday that details how it will be

implemented.

Both measures must pass if the European Union and International Monetary Fund

are to release the next €12 billion slice of the country's €110 billion ($155

billion) bailout fund — and prevent a default that could drag down European

banks and shake the European and world economy.

Prime Minister Papandreou's Socialists have a slim majority of five seats

in the 300-member parliament, and he has faced an internal party revolt over the

new punishing four-year program of spending cuts and tax hikes on even those on

minimum wages.

Papandreou needed 151 votes to pass the bill, and by the late afternoon local

time in Greece, it became clear the government had enough votes to win it.

Bloomberg reported that the final tally was 155-138. Many lawmakers apparently

abstained from participating in the controversial vote.

Greece has said it has funds only until mid-July, after which it will be unable

to pay salaries and pensions, or service its debts, without the next bailout

instalment. The country is also in talks for additional help in the form of a

second bailout, which the prime minister has said will be roughly the size of

the first.

Dissatisfaction over the new measures, and the realization that harsh cuts and

tax hikes imposed over the past year have not worked as expected, has prompted

sharp criticism even from within Papandreou's party and led to a political

crisis earlier this month that saw the government nearly collapse.

In Tuesday's violent protests, police and health officials said 37 policemen and

nine protesters were hurt. Rioters set fire to giant parasols at an outdoor

cafe, using some to form barricades, and smashed windows of a Mc's outlet

and other snack shops. Staff at upscale hotels handed out surgical masks to

tourists and helped them with rolling luggage past the rioting, over ground

strewn with rubble.

Services across the country were disrupted by the second day of a general strike

that left ferries tied up at port, forced dozens of flights to be cancelled or

rescheduled and saw hospitals functioning with emergency crews.

During the debate inside parliament, riot police fired volleys of tear gas to

push back protesters, who were pelting police with bottles and trash and

overturning barriers.

" The air here is just thick with tear gas, " said CBC News reporter Tom Parry

outside parliament. " It's difficult for anyone without a gas mask to breathe.

People are coughing, retching, running away from the huge clouds of tear gas

that are just floating through the streets. "

[Guest guest]

And ever since there has been violence in the streets. Really though if I were a Greek politician, it wouldn't be long before I'd pack my bags and just leave, especially if I were one trying to save the country. Just walk out and let those who want to keep the failed system going do it. That way when it all fell apart, they'd have no one to blame but themselves.

In a message dated 6/29/2011 11:47:10 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Key Greek austerity vote passes