Reuters/New York Times
March 3, 2011
A movement more insidious than crippling strikes or anarchist fire bombings is threatening to undermine Greece's efforts to escape a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.
The "I don't pay" movement -- a sullen form of uncivil disobedience -- is beginning to starve the government of vital revenue from transport and public services as it struggles to plug a giant budget hole.
Fed up with wage cuts and tax hikes while corrupt politicians seen as responsible for the crisis enjoy impunity, more and more Greeks are refusing to pay for road tolls, bus tickets and other public charges.
"It's not easy to take to the streets holding a Molotov cocktail, but it's easy to say I won't pay," pollster Costas Panagopoulos said. "The 'I don't pay' movement is now the main risk for the government."
The ruling Socialists must show within months that tax evaders and those who profited from past corruption are being punished if they want to contain the movement, he said.
The political and legal system grants politicians almost blanket immunity from prosecution, and efforts to fight tax evasion have been slow to show results.
Despite tough austerity measures, social unrest has so far been more subdued than expected as the majority of Greeks have grudgingly accepted that some sacrifices are necessary.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment