希腊，悬！Protesters besiege parliament before Greek vote# Stock
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jun/21/greece-vote-of
By Barry Moody and Harry Papachristou
ATHENS | Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:21pm EDT
ATHENS (Reuters) - More than 20,000 chanting protesters besieged the Greek
parliament on Tuesday before Prime Minister George Papandreou's embattled
government faced a confidence vote crucial to avoiding a sovereign default.
In the biggest protest in Syntagma square for several days, the protesters
chanted slogans against the politicians, shone hundreds of green laser
lights at the building and into the eyes of riot police outside and pushed
their hands forward in a traditional insult.
Papandreou's government, reshuffled to stiffen resolve behind a new
austerity program, is expected to survive the confidence vote but must
rapidly pass two more tests -- enacting the austerity plan and the laws
needed to implement it -- to win a new bailout and avert the euro zone's
first sovereign default.
The vote follows a European ultimatum requiring the debt-choked
Mediterranean state implement a new five-year package of deeply unpopular
reforms in two weeks or miss out on a 12-billion euro aid tranche and plunge
into bankruptcy.
European Commission President Manuel Barroso piled on the pressure, saying
that Greece faced a "moment of truth" and needed to show it was genuinely
committed to the reforms.
"No-one can be helped against their will," Barroso said in Brussels, adding
that backing from the political opposition -- which has so far rejected the
package and called for elections -- was important for success.
Acting IMF chief John Lipsky sent a similar message, saying international
lenders were willing to help peripheral euro zone economies as long as they
tried to carry out reforms.
He said the Greek fiscal system was broken but could be fixed with the right
political will.
PROTESTS INCREASE
As the Greek parliament debated the confidence motion demonstrators stepped
up their protests in the square, where hundreds have camped for weeks to
show their opposition to more austerity, which has deepened the worst
recession for 37 years.
"I believe we should go bankrupt and get over with it. These measures are
slowly killing us," said 22-year-old student Efi Koloverou. "We want
competent people to take over."
Julietta, a public sector worker who declined to give her full name, said: "
We want them all to get out, to go home."
Inside parliament the opposition poured similar disdain on the government. "
This is not a program to salvage the economy, it's a program for pillage
before bankruptcy," said Alexis Tsipras, head of the small opposition Left
Coalition.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, in an attempt to answer a key
grievance of protesters, told parliament the government's top priority would
be to build a fairer tax system.
A new opinion poll showed only 20 per cent of those questioned would vote
for Papandreou's PASOK party if an election was held now.
Papandreou stifled dissent within the party last week by replacing some
unpopular government figures with critics of the plan. Now, with 155 of the
chamber's 300 seats, the party is expected to win the confidence motion in a
vote due around 2100 GMT, but which could slip into the early hours of
Wednesday.
Assuming it survives the vote, the government must hammer through the five-
year package of 28 billion euro ($39.84 billion) in tax hikes and spending
cuts by June 28.
It must then push through laws implementing the reforms -- potentially more
difficult as it will tackle individual privatizations, tax measures and
spending cuts -- in time for an extraordinary meeting of euro zone finance
ministers on July 3.
The cabinet will meet on Wednesday afternoon to approve a draft bill
implementing the measures, officials said.
"Tonight is just the beginning of what is still a long and protracted
process," said Gavin Friend, a strategist at National Australia Bank. "There
are still a lot of hoops to jump through."
GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO WIN VOTE
Pundits say it is very unlikely the cabinet will fail to muster all its
parliamentarians to pass the confidence vote, as this would lead to
political chaos and early elections which PASOK would likely lose.
It would also push the country even closer to default, escalating the risk
of a disastrous destabilization of the global financial system.
International markets were wary ahead of the vote, and traders said there
were still fears Papandreou would fail but there was increasing optimism he
would pass the first hurdle.
Greek bank shares gained more than 6.0 percent and 10-year Greek bonds rose.
The euro and European shares rose, but currency and equity traders said
there was little momentum behind the rally.
"The view is the Greek confidence vote is a done deal," a London trader said.
Having already missed targets agreed in its first, year-old bailout, Athens
needs the reforms if it wants to receive the next tranche of those funds and
secure a second bailout worth an estimated 120 billion euros.
The new mid-term plan envisions raising 50 billion euros by selling off
state firms and includes 6.5 billion in 2011 fiscal consolidation, almost
doubling existing measures that have helped extend a deep recession into its
third year.
Most analysts remain skeptical that Greece will be able to reduce its vast
sovereign debt pile of 340 billion euros, or more than 30,000 euros per head
of its 11.3 million population, even if it passes the reforms.
Inspectors from the International Monetary Fund and European Union arrived
on Tuesday to examine a request by newly appointed Finance Minister
Venizelos for changes to the mid-term plan. Greece's government has said the
lenders' inspectors would discuss changes "at a technical level."
Euro zone officials have told Reuters the plan for the new bailout, meant to
extend Greece's year-old 110-billion-euro deal and fund it into late 2014,
would feature up to 60 billion euros of fresh official loans, 30 billion
euros from the private sector and 30 billion euros from privatizations.
(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Peter Graff)
By Barry Moody and Harry Papachristou
ATHENS | Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:21pm EDT
ATHENS (Reuters) - More than 20,000 chanting protesters besieged the Greek
parliament on Tuesday before Prime Minister George Papandreou's embattled
government faced a confidence vote crucial to avoiding a sovereign default.
In the biggest protest in Syntagma square for several days, the protesters
chanted slogans against the politicians, shone hundreds of green laser
lights at the building and into the eyes of riot police outside and pushed
their hands forward in a traditional insult.
Papandreou's government, reshuffled to stiffen resolve behind a new
austerity program, is expected to survive the confidence vote but must
rapidly pass two more tests -- enacting the austerity plan and the laws
needed to implement it -- to win a new bailout and avert the euro zone's
first sovereign default.
The vote follows a European ultimatum requiring the debt-choked
Mediterranean state implement a new five-year package of deeply unpopular
reforms in two weeks or miss out on a 12-billion euro aid tranche and plunge
into bankruptcy.
European Commission President Manuel Barroso piled on the pressure, saying
that Greece faced a "moment of truth" and needed to show it was genuinely
committed to the reforms.
"No-one can be helped against their will," Barroso said in Brussels, adding
that backing from the political opposition -- which has so far rejected the
package and called for elections -- was important for success.
Acting IMF chief John Lipsky sent a similar message, saying international
lenders were willing to help peripheral euro zone economies as long as they
tried to carry out reforms.
He said the Greek fiscal system was broken but could be fixed with the right
political will.
PROTESTS INCREASE
As the Greek parliament debated the confidence motion demonstrators stepped
up their protests in the square, where hundreds have camped for weeks to
show their opposition to more austerity, which has deepened the worst
recession for 37 years.
"I believe we should go bankrupt and get over with it. These measures are
slowly killing us," said 22-year-old student Efi Koloverou. "We want
competent people to take over."
Julietta, a public sector worker who declined to give her full name, said: "
We want them all to get out, to go home."
Inside parliament the opposition poured similar disdain on the government. "
This is not a program to salvage the economy, it's a program for pillage
before bankruptcy," said Alexis Tsipras, head of the small opposition Left
Coalition.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, in an attempt to answer a key
grievance of protesters, told parliament the government's top priority would
be to build a fairer tax system.
A new opinion poll showed only 20 per cent of those questioned would vote
for Papandreou's PASOK party if an election was held now.
Papandreou stifled dissent within the party last week by replacing some
unpopular government figures with critics of the plan. Now, with 155 of the
chamber's 300 seats, the party is expected to win the confidence motion in a
vote due around 2100 GMT, but which could slip into the early hours of
Wednesday.
Assuming it survives the vote, the government must hammer through the five-
year package of 28 billion euro ($39.84 billion) in tax hikes and spending
cuts by June 28.
It must then push through laws implementing the reforms -- potentially more
difficult as it will tackle individual privatizations, tax measures and
spending cuts -- in time for an extraordinary meeting of euro zone finance
ministers on July 3.
The cabinet will meet on Wednesday afternoon to approve a draft bill
implementing the measures, officials said.
"Tonight is just the beginning of what is still a long and protracted
process," said Gavin Friend, a strategist at National Australia Bank. "There
are still a lot of hoops to jump through."
GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO WIN VOTE
Pundits say it is very unlikely the cabinet will fail to muster all its
parliamentarians to pass the confidence vote, as this would lead to
political chaos and early elections which PASOK would likely lose.
It would also push the country even closer to default, escalating the risk
of a disastrous destabilization of the global financial system.
International markets were wary ahead of the vote, and traders said there
were still fears Papandreou would fail but there was increasing optimism he
would pass the first hurdle.
Greek bank shares gained more than 6.0 percent and 10-year Greek bonds rose.
The euro and European shares rose, but currency and equity traders said
there was little momentum behind the rally.
"The view is the Greek confidence vote is a done deal," a London trader said.
Having already missed targets agreed in its first, year-old bailout, Athens
needs the reforms if it wants to receive the next tranche of those funds and
secure a second bailout worth an estimated 120 billion euros.
The new mid-term plan envisions raising 50 billion euros by selling off
state firms and includes 6.5 billion in 2011 fiscal consolidation, almost
doubling existing measures that have helped extend a deep recession into its
third year.
Most analysts remain skeptical that Greece will be able to reduce its vast
sovereign debt pile of 340 billion euros, or more than 30,000 euros per head
of its 11.3 million population, even if it passes the reforms.
Inspectors from the International Monetary Fund and European Union arrived
on Tuesday to examine a request by newly appointed Finance Minister
Venizelos for changes to the mid-term plan. Greece's government has said the
lenders' inspectors would discuss changes "at a technical level."
Euro zone officials have told Reuters the plan for the new bailout, meant to
extend Greece's year-old 110-billion-euro deal and fund it into late 2014,
would feature up to 60 billion euros of fresh official loans, 30 billion
euros from the private sector and 30 billion euros from privatizations.
(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Peter Graff)
