Once again Usain Bolt proved himself to be the fasted man alive. After skyrocketing to fame in Beijing some questioned how he would perform at London 2012. They needn’t have bothered. Bolt cruised through the 100 metres in 9.63 seconds, snatching gold from the hands of his training partner and countryman Yohan Blake in the process. Although not quite as fast as a cheetah (which could run a hundred meters in about 3.3 seconds) Bolt is certainly not sluggish. But sluggish would be the perfect word to describe Greece’s recent negotiations over spending cuts.
Discussions regarding the implementation of 11.5 billion euro’s worth of cuts to take place over the next two years have been limping on for weeks. But it finally seems that resolution is nigh.
Following Sunday’s meeting between the finance ministry and the Troika sources have reported that a significant percentage of policies for cutting state spending have now been agreed.
The sources disclosed that discussions between finance minister Yiannis Stournaras, the Greek government’s economic staff and the Troika are not over, but the 11.5 billion euro package and the inclusion of so-called fiscal ‘equivalent measures’ in the 2012 budget are closer to finalisation.
The ministry sources stated that the Troika will shortly leave Athens and won’t be returning until the beginning of next month. They further asserted that everything will be completely resolved by the onset of September, prior to the scheduled Eurogroup meeting.
One source present at the meeting stated: ‘We have agreed – and this is important – on a series of policies […] This process must be completed by early September, so that we will be ready for the Eurogroup, the budget and everything else that is outstanding. Therefore, the process is going well, it is progressing systematically. I believe that the same climate exists on the side of the partners, too’.
Although the government’s determination is evident, concern over whether measures will be adopted by the public sector is refusing to abate.
George Pagoulatos, a professor of economics at Athens University, expressed his concerns over the implementation of reforms; ‘The political will is strong, but so are the obstacles – red tape, a demoralized and increasingly underpaid public administration are principal among them’.
Previously, reforms have met strong union protest and stumbled accordingly. The radical leftist Syriza opposition party has also been actively bolstering public disaffection. Syriza spokesman Panos Skourletis hit out against government action stating; ‘These measures lead to a dead end. People have no more tolerance and the economy can’t take this any more. We will take all initiatives in and out of parliament to stop them. Resistance and social clashes are inevitable.’
Clearly, once the measures are finalised there will be more issues to overcome.
Last night the Olympics was all about the 100 metres, for Greece the weeks ahead are all about the hurdles.
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