Strikes continued in Greece on Wednesday, with small shops, primarily grocery stores and textile and footwear retailers, remaining closed in major cities such as Athens and Thessaloniki during the morning hours.
The Federation of Small Retailers called for the work stoppage under the slogan "We Stand on the Brink of Collapse." Retailers are protesting against the dramatic decline in sales in their stores due to the collapse of citizens’ purchasing power, which has put their livelihoods at risk. They are demanding a reduction in tax obligations and favorable loans for small retailers. Major retail chains did not participate in the protests on Wednesday, public television reported. On Wednesday, a general strike of public transport and a large part of public services in Greece paralyzed traffic and the economy.
Due to the strike, called as a protest against the sharp rise in living costs and privatization plans, nearly two million employees, almost one in three workers in Greece, did not go to work on Tuesday, the organizer of the strike, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Athens, announced on Wednesday. The conservative government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has lost a significant portion of voter support due to its harsh cutting and austerity policies, as well as a series of scandals involving nepotism and corruption. According to polls published on Wednesday, conservatives lag behind opposition socialists by 1.2 to 2 percent in voter favorability. Political observers estimate that early general elections in the coming months are very likely. (H)
