New York Times
September 21, 2011
Facing mounting pressure from the foreign lenders keeping it solvent, the Greek government on Wednesday announced additional — and deeply unpopular — austerity measures, including scaling back the public sector and cutting pensions.
Greece’s so-called troika of foreign lenders — the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund — have required the measures as a condition for releasing the next installment of $11 billion in aid that the country needs to meet expenses starting in mid-October. Fears of a Greek default have shaken world markets and revealed deep fissures in the European Union.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament on Wednesday that Greece had no choice but to continue with its austerity program in order to appease the financial markets. “The markets are blackmailing us and the circumstances are humiliating us,” he said.
He added that the government would do everything possible to keep the country “out of danger.” In a rare about-face, Mr. Venizelos, a Socialist Party stalwart who is widely seen as holding the reins of Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government, said that Greece was fortunate to be under foreign supervision.
“The Greek people are suffering, the country is upset and depressed but also dignified and proud,” Mr. Venizelos added.
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