Greece's poorest in fight for survival

With the summer finally here it would be nice just to enjoy the sun and forget our worries with some time at the beach. However, no matter good the weather is the fact still remains that the Greek economy is in serious trouble with signs of economic decline appearing everywhere from the sight of pensioners dumpster diving to the fact that consumers are cutting back even on staples such as milk and other diary products.

Even with the help that people have been so generous in giving me after the break - in I am still wondering how I'm going to get through the next three months, traditionally a period when people are not interested in doing English lessons. On the other hand I see people especially those who live in the poorer neighbourhoods on the west side of the city for whom the coming summer is going to be a fight for survival. Contrary to what you may have read in the foreign press about profligate Greeks living high on the hog there are millions of ordinary people who are worried over how they are going to pay household bills and feed their families.

These are Greeks on lower incomes (some of the lowest in the EU) who do not have a steady income, jobs in the public sector and who saw little or nothing of the massive state expenditure racked up by previous governments. These are the Greeks who are obliged to send their kids to dire state schools, live in areas with lousy roads, high crime and virtually non-existent public services. They are the Greeks who take their risks in a public health service which is running out of basic medical supplies and in many cases do not have the staff to offer proper emergency care.

To add to their burdens Greece is currently in the grip of an inflationary cycle with prices rising by 5.4% , three times the Eurozone average. Much of this increase is fuelled by rises in VAT and indirect taxes on petrol and much due to ever present price cartels which make sure that competition is in name only.

With shrinking incomes comes rising unemployment, especially for the young and women who were already disadvantaged in the job market wages have fallen still further leading to a slow death dive in which less and less money is available which in turn results in demand shrinking and so yet more job losses. It's very hard to see how the economy is going to avoid this. Despite talk of PM Giorgos Papandreou's talk of stimulating development the reality is that the government has little to offer other than words.

What seems likely is that whatever promises the present socialist PASOK government has given to the IMF/ECB in return for further bailout money are going to be harder to keep. Not simply because the austerity measures they demand are causing massive social upheaval but also because with the Greek economy tanking sources of tax revenue are drying up faster than a puddle in Death Valley. Those who made their billions through their political and personal connections with the two major parties have long since made sure that their wealth is beyond the reach of the taxman, leaving Athens to grab what it can from those citizens who do not have access to Swiss bank accounts or off-shore companies.

As the Greek parliament once again goes through the annual charade of investigating itself for corruption and once again manages to avoid bringing even one of their ranks to justice the rest of Greece looks on disgusted with this particular puppet theatre, convinced that whatever political capital PASOK and New Democracy had has long since vanished.

Judgement day for Greece

Today Greek prime minister will announce the full details of the deal that it has negotiated with the EU-IMF-ECB over the conditions of the bailout package. So far the media here have been coy about saying what exactly the agreement contains but the general consensus is that it will include painful cuts across the board in terms of pay and conditions in both the private and public sector. In addition there are likely to be large job cuts as many civil service positions are axed.The most likely tactic will be a change from permanent contract to fixed term ones which when they run out will not be renewed.

As well as cuts in income Greeks are also going to be hit by yet another round of rises in VAT and other indirect taxes (the second in six months). Already the local public tranport authority here in Thessaloniki has announced 20-100% increase in bus ticket prices.

As you can imagine there is a lot of popular anger from people affected by these measures and this is likely to fuel a wave of protests and strikes in the coming months. Already the Greek communist party (KKE), which is the third largest has delared that it will fight the austerity package and is calling on workers to raise up. Other groups are also oganising different ways to try and fight against the government's plans with direct action and protests which have been scheduled for the coming week.

While everyone in Greece agrrees that the present situation is dire and things cannot continue as before they are bitter and angry that the very same politicians who failed to avert the present economic crisis either due to incompetence, corruption or indifference are now calling upon ordinary Greeks to make sacrifices. This would be a steep order for any country even in the best of circumstances but giving the extreme corruption of Greece's ruling political and economic nomenclenture none of country's leaders retains the moral stature necessary to convince people to take the difficult steps that lay ahead.

THe ruling PASOK party headed by Giorgos Papandreou has done little to clean up ts own house when it comes to graft and influence peddling and despite court cases in Germany and the UK, the scandals its senior members were involved in during their last term in power have yet to result in any criminal charges being brought against those involved here. On the other hand the newly elected leader of the defeated New Democracy, Antonis Samaras heads a party whose members presided other one of the worst periods of corruption in Greek history yet few have even been fired let alone been the subject of a court trial.

What people are enraged about is that such incompetence and corruption is likely to be repeated since no one is in a position to put a stop to the pevious abuses of power. The judiciary is little more than an extension of whoever is in power and can be ignored at will while the media is suppine in the face of the temptation of rewards from those in power in the form of state jobs, contracts and advertising revenue. Sometimes it seems that the news here is a choice between a Hellenic version of Fox News or Pravda, with very little objective reporting.

The clashes witnessed in Athens during May Day are likely to be repeated in the following days as the general strike this week is going to a catatlyst for people's rage and frustration.

The effects of Greece's economic crisis hit home

Greek flag - EU flag, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

You can see the current economic crisis in Greece start to nibble away at even the upscale neighbourhoods here in Thessaloniki. The symptoms are not as brutal or as obvious as the endless rows of For Sale/For Rent signs that have sprouted up in the poorer areas on the west side of the city. Yet like fissures in a supporting wall they are set to widen and become more visible as the stresses on it increase.

In the shopping malls on the east end of town such as Mediterranean Cosmos the paving stones are cracked, seemingly uncared for and the food court floor is strewn with rubbish. On the other hand security guards thread their way endlessly around the tables in their mock police outfits, like revellers on their way to a fancy dress party.

In the other malls even local fast food outlets such as Goodys have stopped displaying prices, perhaps in an attempt to delay sticker shock until after the unsuspecting customer has made their choice. The whole complex has an eerie Dawn of the Dead, Zombies in the Mall feel to it as the handful of shoppers listlessly wheel their trollies up and down the empty aisles.

What the wealthier sections of Thessaloniki, and Greek society in general are realising is that the financial downturn which has been hitting poorer Greeks for last two to three years is exonerably reaching out to their corner of the world as well.