Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Strike Season

With reforms desperately needed to Greece's pension system, the government is enacting stop-gap measures at a glacial pace to bandage the system while keeping the elite civil servants happy.

But of course their arrogance knows no bounds and for this reason All of Greece is suffering Strikes.
The result is:
Athens looks like one of its many illegal open air rubbish tips as a result of Sanitation workers strike.
Power outages across all of Greece as electrical workers go on strike leaving areas without power for up to 6 hours. (At the same time Greece gets fined for not opening up its electricity market to competition - Greece also has failed to meet its renewable electricity target of a measly 6% - and no new plants have been built meaning that electricity demands have outstripped supply, increasing reliance on burning oil for energy)
One Illegal Stockmarket strike damaging Greece's nascent business market and reputation
Bank strikes which may mean a shortage of cash from ATMs as cash reserves in banks fall dangerously low. (If we still had the Drachma inflation fears would be rampant!)

All in all the government is doing what it does best - Management by incompetence
And is in no danger of collapsing because no one else wants the job.