Greece: Fourth round of austerity gets parliamentary approval

Greek MPs approved the latest and fourth round of austerity measures by a razor thin margin on Wednesday night as around 100,000 people marched on the Greek parliament.

The protests saw dozens of people injured and damaged to several properties in central Athens.

With a further 13.5 billion euros of tax increases and cuts to income on the way, many people accuse politicians of hypocrisy.

“What haven’t these politicians asked themselves why they are only looking after their own interests. Shouldn’t their income, overtime and social benefits be reduced just like pensioners like myself and other people? If you ask me, this is shameful,” said one man.

The government must now get its 2013 budget approved by MPs on Sunday.

Officials have repeatedly warned that the further public sector cuts were vital to ensure the next tranche of bailout funds worth 31.5 billion euros can be released before the country goes bankrupt.

The next question is whether the additional austerity measures can realistically be implemented by Greece’s intransigent bureaucracy.

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