Thursday, May 20, 2010

"Austerity" the New Buzzword: Mass Protest in Romania Over Austerity Measures; Greek Unions Protest Austerity Measures;Sarkozy Grapples with Austerity

Social unrest continues to brew in Europe. This time in Romania and Greece. France is on deck as French President Nicolas Sarkozy battles unions who refuse any cuts in pension benefits. French unions have called for a general strike starting May 27.

Let's kick of the discussion with a look at Romania. The BBC reports Thousands protest over Romania austerity measures. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10127366.stm

Tens of thousands of public sector workers have gathered in the Romanian capital Bucharest to protest against plans to cut wages and pensions. The gathering was one of the biggest on the streets of Bucharest was one of the biggest since the Romanian Revolution.

"We will not leave until the government quits," said Bogdan Hossu, leader of the Cartel Alfa trade union. Marian Gruia, head of the policemen's union, called on Romanians to unite, "as we did in 1989, when we overthrew the dictatorship" of communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu.

Romania's economy shrunk more than 7% last year and it needed an IMF bail-out in order to meet its wage bill. It says it needs to implement new austerity measures to qualify for the next installment of the 20m-euro ($25bn; £17bn) IMF loan.

The government has proposed wage cuts of 25% and pension cuts of 15% in order to reduce the country's budget deficit.

New Wave of Strikes in Greece Over Painful Austerity Measures

Please consider Greek unions hold new general strike against cuts http://www.wcnc.com/news/world/94381499.html

Unions plan to protest the painful austerity measures of Greece's cash-strapped government by holding a general strike Thursday that will close much of the country's public sector and shut down the country's ferries, trains and public transport.

Thursday's strike is to shut down schools, tax and local administration offices, ferries, trains and most other public transport options in Athens. State hospitals will have to operate with emergency staff only.

Most flights will be unaffected, as air traffic controllers will stay on the job. However, some regional airports will close, and Greece's Olympic Air carrier said it was canceling 30 domestic flights.

Austerity Woes in France

Inquiring minds are reading Sarkozy Grapples With ‘Politically Unacceptable’ Deficit Cuts. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... Ox2g&pos=9

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s popularity fell to its lowest since his 2007 election last month. Worse may lie ahead as he cuts spending and raises taxes in the wake of Europe’s financial crisis.

Sarkozy risks increasing voters’ ire two years ahead of presidential elections as he strives to meet promised deficit- reduction targets and pacify investors. The choices include the politically sensitive areas of lifting the top tax rate and tightening pension requirements.

“Austerity is economically necessary but politically unacceptable,â€