July 8, 2010

Protesters losing support

Using the head count on the number of protesters in Athens for this recent series of demonstrations and strikes, Wall Street Journal writers Alkman Granitsas and Nick Skrekas is deducing waning support for the efforts to block pension reform now struggling for passage in the Greek parliament:

" Shouting slogans and carrying banners that read: "Enough Is Enough: Together We Can Beat The Austerity Plan" and "Keep Your Hands Off Social Security and Pensions" the demonstrators marched down the main streets in the center of the city as riot police stood by.

According to police estimates, somewhere between 12,000 and 15,000 people took part in three separate demonstrations in Athens, though protest organizers put the number at 20,000. The turnout was low by Greek standards, reflecting flagging participation in protest action, particularly after violence has marred similar demonstrations recently.

In early May, a firebombing of a downtown Athens bank branch killed three workers. Since then, the protests have shrunk in size and the level of violence has been more restrained.

Thursday, demonstrators attacked one man on suspicion that he was an undercover police officer, who then had to be taken away by ambulance. But apart from that incident, there were no reports of violence to mar the protest.

"Until now there has been no incidence of violence and I hope it stays that way," said police spokesperson Panagiotis Papapetropoulos.

For many protesters, the demonstration was also symbolic. Despite widespread unhappiness over pension reform, recent polls show that many Greeks accepts the need for broad reform."

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