Greek workers protest against new more "flexible" working conditions.

Greek workers protest against new more "flexible" working conditions., a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Pensioner protesting - Thessaloniki, Greece

Pensioner protesting - Thessaloniki, Greece, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

The sign reads

"Cuts in pensions.
There's no euros for taxes.
We are the tax dodgers.
You can arrest us.

SHAME

The pensioners association

Sysperiosi"

Which side are you on boys, which side are you on? - Greece

Which side are you on boys, which side are you on? - Greece, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Minutes after anti - austerity protesters returned to the main body of the march Greek police grabbed and beat a photographer (see his Twitter feed here) for taking pictures of them.

Greek pensioner breaks down in tears during TV interview

Greek pensioner breaks down in tears during TV interview, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

When the interviewer asked him how the latest austerity measures had affected him the pensioner broke down in tears.

Thousands took to the streets of Thessaloniki, Greece for the latest in a series of protests aimed at overturning government plans to introduce yet more austerity measures.

More strikes and marches have been called for the next two days

Greeks take to the streets after austerity agreement

Greeks take to the streets after austerity agreement, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Taken tonight in the northern port city of Thessaloniki during a protest march against the latest round of austerity measures which have crippled the Greek economy. During the demonstration protesters briefly occupied two radio stations and read out messages on air calling upon people to join further demonstrations planned for the coming days.

As Greece drifts towards disaster, what happens next?

Protest march in Thessaloniki, Greece in support of nationwide general strike, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr

As the negotiations between Athens and the country's creditors over the terms of the next austerity measures wind up there is a growing sense on the internet and in the streets that Greece is tipping over into disaster. While it's easy to get carried away by the hyperbole and hysteria that accompanies much of the reporting of the present situation the reality may indeed be living up to the feverish imaginations of headline writers. 

Unemployment has continued to climb as the number of businesses going under increases, in part the result of falling incomes and a series of crushing demands by Athens for more and more tax revenue. The irony is that each increase in either direct taxation such as that on properties or indirect via VAT has brought less and less money into government coffers. Yesterday's Greek Finance Ministry report showed that instead of an expected  rise in revenue Greece's income has dropped by 7%. 

At every single turn price hikes have resulted in fall of consumption, even for items as basic as heating oil, as people either do without or turn to alternative sources such as wood often illegally logged from the country's forests. 

Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, the European Union and in particular the German political leadership  is insisting on yet more cuts in public spending on pensions and health, more job losses and a drastic cut in the minimum wage. Hardly surprising, given this and the years of vilification the German right wing press Greeks are becoming more open to anti-German feeling, as witnessed by the burning of a German flag outside  parliament during yesterday's demonstrations in Athens. While many have been quick to condemn such actions such sentiments are the exception rather than the rule as anger, frustration and indignation replace calmer analysis.

In response to the latest cuts trade unions called a general strike for Tuesday with limited results, many public sector employees carried on working while the turnout for marches was low, with just a few thousand participating in Athens and Thessaloniki. Some argued that the last minute nature of the call combined with unusually low temperatures were to blame. However, I believe there is a growing despondency which has taken hold of people, the conviction that whatever they do nothing will change, feed by the fact that after two years of austerity and four years of economic decline marches, strikes and other protests have not succeeded in halting the malaise.

This, however, should not be mistaken for acceptance, no matter how grudging, of the new economic measures, anger over those and disgust with the current political system is greater than ever. It's is now an article of faith that no member of government can appear in public without presence of riot police units to protect them from their own voters, sometimes even members of their own party. What people lack is a focus for their frustration and the possibility that they can change the present situation.

With the dissolution of established forms of protests and dissent there is a growing danger that popular anger will explode in ways that cannot be directed or contained in the traditional way and with unpredictable consequences. With money drying up and families resources dwindling more and more people will be open to any suggestion, no matter how radical or extreme that offers them even a glimmer of hope for the future.

Greeks protesting austerity measures

Greeks protesting austerity measures, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Greek protesters decorate Christmas tree with electricity bills with latest tax hike

Greek protesters decorate Christmas tree with electricity bills with latest tax hike, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Greek protesters close down military parade during anti - governmentprotest

Greek protesters close down military parade during anti - government protest, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Greek parliament swathed in tear gas. Athens

Greek parliament swathed in tear gas. Athens, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

I was in Syntagma Square yesterday and it was like being in hell. I have never witnessed so much violence from the police in all the demos and protests I've covered in Greece. I saw riot police officers beat a man who'd fallen to the ground, acting for all the world like a wolf pack falling upon its prey. Pure, unadulterated savagery.

What I saw yesterday in Athens was a corrupt regime drown legitimate dissent in a sea of tear gas and violence.

The only bright spot was the extreme bravery of ordinary Greeks who defied the brutality of the police to protest and were capable of the most amazing acts of kindness to strangers even in the worst situations.

For more pictures on Flickr click here. For Demotix story and photos click here and here,

You the people....Or not as the case may be. Greek government vote of confidence

You the people...., a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

Against my better judgement I found myself staying up late to follow the Greek government vote of confidence last night. Not so much to find out the result, that was a foregone conclusion after prime minister,Giorgos Papandreou's cabinet reshuffle/meltdown last week. But rather to follow the reaction of Greeks on Twitter and those gathered outside parliament in Syntagma Square, Athens.

Despite the presence of a huge crowd outside parliament the local media and especially state run TV news did their best to ignore the fact, meaning that any Greek wanting to gauge the reaction of his/her fellow citizens would have been better off going to foreign news sites than his own national media. This is a sad indictment of how mainstream news in Greece, like its political institutions considers only those within its own tight orbit worthy of attention. The rest of the population is looked upon as creatures as distant and exotic and galloping gazelles in Kenya.

I don't think many Greek Twitter users believed that the ruling PASOK government was in any real danger of falling despite the breathless commentary offered by TV stations worldwide, but their anger over the politicians in parliament flew back and forth with ever increasing intensity, tinged with a particularly Greek mixture of frustration,anger and satire.

Outside parliament Greece's indignados used laser pens to project the word "thief" on the walls of the building, that is when not trying to blind TV cameras, another indication of the level of antagonism this movement feels towards local mainstream media.

At 2AM the final vote came in, 155 in favour of the government, 143 against and 2 absent, including rather mysteriously Dora Bakoyianni , ex - cabinet minister and the leader of the newly minted Democratic Alliance party .



Of course the markets and Grece's creditors will take the vote to mean that parliament is on track to pass the new austerity measures being demanded by ECB and German politicians and so the smart money will make a quick killing selling off position acquired during this week's market funk, knowing full well that the vote is essentially meaningless, as was last week's cabinet reshuffle in terms of winning over the Greek electorate.

The reality is that the austerity package is deeply unpopular and seen as a slow death for the Greek economy, any political group alligning itself with it faces political suicide in the next elections.Even if the legislation is passed the level of resistance towards Papandreou and the troika of lenders dictating terms is likely to grow making attempts to put it into action difficult and in the long term probably futile.

The most likely result is more street protests, large scale industrial action and the resurgence of civil disobedience campaigns such as the "I won't Pay" movement which successfully encourages drivers to not pay highway tolls and public transport passengers to ride without buying tickets.

The insistence of foreign and especially German polticians and bankers that Grece knuckle under is also feeding a groundswell of nationalist feeling, always a powerful and unpredictable element in Greek political life, though still not clearly formulated the continued pressure from Berlin and Frankfurt is drawing comparisons with Greece's painful occupation by Nazi Germany during the Second World war, a volitile analogy that does not bode well for future European  co-operation.

The real showdown will come next week when the austerity package comes to a parliamentary vote, then we'll see if Papandreou will be able to hold together his fragile party alliances in the face of massive public protests and the prospect of MPs returning to their constituencies and outraged voters during the summer recess..

Greece mourns loss of three bank workers lost in arson attack

Last night my dreams were full of smoke, flame and screams. I slept fitfully and when I woke I felt a sadness that I could not place till I remembered the tragic deaths of three people in a branch of Marfin bank in Athens yesterday after a group of people smashed the bank windows on the ground floor, poured petrol into it and set fire to the building. As a result three employees, including a pregnant woman died of asphyxiation. Everyone I know, everyone who has heard the news is in a state of shock, mourning those who were lost in such a senseless manner.

When the news first hit the internet, Twitter was full of wild rumours and speculation, some argued that the deaths were just black propaganda or the work of agent provocateurs intent on discrediting the anti-government demonstrations. Others still insisted that the real target of the arsonists were the archives of the government's anti-fraud agency which supposedly has offices in the same building. As time passed and the details of the tragedy came to light the rumours were quietly replaced by the realisation that the attack and deaths were most probably the result of that most deadly of human traits, stupidity. Those who set fire to the bank saw a target and give little or no heed to the possibility that people were inside.

This is not to say they are not responsible for their actions and I sincerely hope that they are caught and receive the punishment they so richly deserve.

On the other hand there is great sadness amongst those who took part in yesterday's demonstrations that this brutal act has allowed the local media to shift attention from the demands of the hundreds of thousands who took part in the marches onto those responsible for the deaths and so tar legitimate opposition to the austerity package with the actions of a handful of murderous morons.

Despite the attempts by the local media and especially the country's TV channels to present the massive cuts in income and jobs as inevitable the reality remains that the majority of Greeks are unwilling to sacrifice so much in order to pay debts racked up by the current economic and political systems which is already creaking under the weight of the anger that is building up. Today the Greek parliament will most probably vote in favour of the IMF-EU bailout plan but that is almost irrevelent as what really matters is the ability of the ruling PASOK government to implement the measures in the face of opposition from virtually every sector of society, to impose a cut in living standards unprecedented not just in post war Greek society but in the post - war history of western Europe.

Even within PASOK itself resistance to the measures is growing and how long prime minister Giorgos Papandreou will be able to maintain party discipline is a matter of doubt. More fundamentally the current political leadership does not have the moral clout to demand so much of the Greek people when it has been mired so deeply in corruption and scandal. The role of leading PASOK politicians in the Siemens, Daimler and Krupps corruption cases has yet to be satisfactorily resolved and there is a widespread belief that the hundreds of billions destined for Greece will just be used by the political elite to line their pockets and pay off political favours.

Yet it is not business as usual in Greece as people are starting to realise. The rage felt has momentarily subsided replaced by grief over yesterday's awful events but that will be just a brief respite for the government as the underlaying causes of popular anger still remain. When you see a woman pensioner, apoplectic with rage, using virtually every swear word available in the Greek canon to insult police menacing protest marchers then you know that Greece is undergoing a profound sea change.

Greek protesters vent their anger at government's austerity measures - Taken last Thursday

Greek protesters vent their anger at government's austerity measures - Taken last Thursday, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Greek protesters attempt to storm government building - Thessaloniki

Greek protesters attempt to storm government building - Thessaloniki, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.