Main focus of Wednesday, February 24, 2010

General strike in Greece

Greece's major trade unions are responding to the government's drastic austerity measures with a general strike today, Wednesday. Commentators criticise the strike, and write that it could also spread to other countries of Europe.

Kathimerini - Greece

The strike called by Greek trade union association GSEE is entirely unjustified in the eyes of conservative daily Kathimerini: "The GSEE is striking today against measures that basically 65 percent of the population agree with, without making any proposal as to where the money for the workers is to come from if the government's tough measures aren't implemented. ... It's clear that even the union leadership doesn't believe its own statements, or in the need for or effectiveness of the strike. It has called this strike because it was its duty to do so. The strike is not directed at the working class but at the different interest groups. ... It doesn't care about how much the strike will cost. They haven't considered the damage this will do to production ... and the country's reputation ... with potential lenders." (24/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Social movements, » Greece
All available articles from » Dionisis Gousetis

Spiegel Online - Germany

Greece is afraid that horror stories about its debt crisis could lead to increasingly strict constraints from Brussels, writes the portal SpiegelOnline with a view to today's general strike in the country: "Greece's powerful unions now want to fight back with a general strike. ... Above all it's the country's priviliged civil servants who are burdening the country with strikes. ... Many Greeks are angry that the Germans of all people are pushing for a rigorous austerity policy. ... Prime Minister Papandreou stresses that what Greece really needs from its European partners is political, not financial support. Only in this way, he says, can his country win back lost confidence - and attain lower interest rates on financial markets. And only in this way can the country have a much needed respite to make the strict austerity programme bearable for the people." (24/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Corinna Jessen

Hospodářské noviny - Czech Republic

Unions in the Czech Republic announced on Tuesday that public transport in the country would be halted on Monday. The business paper Hospodářské Noviny comments: "Europe is sliding into the second phase of the crisis. For politicians this phase is even more difficult to control than the first. It was easier to pump money into the banks and leave debts to the generation of our grandchildren. But calming the generation of parents and grandparents is another thing altogether. For them it's increasingly difficult to find jobs, and those they have are poorly paid as a rule. Europeans could do with a politician like Churchill, one who disregards current moods and opinion polls and determines the direction to be taken. But where, and how, can such a one be found?" (24/02/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Trade unions, » Germany, » Spain, » Greece, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Martin Ehl

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