The Greeks wake up at the dawn of a dark day this Thursday, March 16. The call for a general strike promises to be widely followed in both the public and private sectors. All transport should be stopped, administrations closed and hospitals on minimum service.
The strike began on Wednesday for the media of all media, depriving the country of radio and television news bulletins.
Grievances far outweigh this protest
The Greeks have not taken off since the rail disaster which killed 57 people on February 28, while the extreme dilapidation of the network has been denounced for a long time. Since then, several demonstrations have followed one another to demand a thorough and transparent investigation into this rail tragedy and to establish the entire chain of responsibility. But now the grievances go far beyond this protest. The demonstrators attack the waves of privatizations, the ultra-liberal policy of the government and demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Anger affects all layers of the population. At 70 years old, Marianthi is of all the demonstrations. And shouts its bitterness: “It’s not just the train. There are all the other privatizations, electricity, roads, and also unemployment, the high cost of living”. SO “we crack. People are rising up.” she explains, holding back her tears. ” I have three sons, two have already gone abroad during the crisis because there was nothing for them here. I don’t want the third one to go too,” she adds.
Elections probably postponed to the end of May
Kyriakos Mitsotakis is even heckled within his own conservative party for his judged management “catastrophic” of this accident. And his popularity is eroding in the polls, going from 30.2% to 27.4% of voting intentions, in the perspective of the anticipated legislative elections which were envisaged for April 9, according to the press, without a date. official has been given so far.
From now on, analysts are suggesting the hypothesis of a first round no earlier than May 21, and a second round in July. The weather, according to his advisers, “may the anger calm down and that the measures taken in favor of the families of the victims have their effect”. Except that these only added fuel to the fire. Announcing the cancellation of tax debts and an annuity for grieving families was very badly received, both by the demonstrators and by those concerned who had the feeling of being bought off. A father of a victim has publicly said that he felt insulted at the news that his debt for the death of his child was erased.
“We are heading towards a great period of political instability”
The relative drop in popularity of the head of government is hardly benefiting his left-wing rival Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party (24.5% of voting intentions), even if the gap is narrowing. Those disappointed with Kyriakos Mitsotakis are above all likely to swell the ranks of abstainers. “We are heading towards a great period of political instability”, says Gerasimos Kouzelis, professor emeritus of political science. “No party can govern alone. They will have to make alliances, but the left is not united and the New Democracy of Mitsotakis can only ally itself with the far right, risking to lead to strong disputes”. The problem is that political instability rhymes with economic stagnation and that’s the last thing Greece needs.