April 15, 2011
With the Greek economy pounded by international markets, predictions of a sovereign default growing daily and his own parliamentarians riveted by dissent, prime minister George Papandreou attempted to steer the country out of worsening fiscal crisis by announcing a "road map" to recovery.
Nearly a year after debt-stricken Athens was rescued by eurozone nations and the IMF with the biggest bailout in history, the leader pledged further budget cuts and an unprecedented €50bn (£44bn) privatisation drive to rejuvenate Greece's dire financial health.
"Today we are presenting the basic guidelines of a roadmap that will lead us from the Greece of crisis to the Greece of creativity," he said in a keynote speech. "The plan will be completed and enriched in the coming weeks."
But while Papandreou also promised a root-and-branch "restructuring" of the EU state, the deficit-cutting drive did little to allay concerns that Athens is coursing towards default.
Instead, it appeared to reinforce fears that Greece is on the brink of being unable to manage its ever-expanding debt in an environment that, politically and economically, has become increasingly explosive.
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