Greek PM Austerity Appeal To MPs

Reuter reports:

Greek ministers urged wavering members of the ruling Socialist party on Saturday to do their duty in a knife-edge vote in parliament next week and back painful austerity measures that lenders demand as the price for fresh bailout loans.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos offered to talk to any MP who might have concerns. "I believe that the sense of responsibility will ultimately prevail, the God of Greece is great," he said on TV station Alter.

With Prime Minister George Papandreou's majority down to a handful of votes, one deputy from his PASOK party said on Friday he would vote against the measures, joining another party rebel who announced his opposition earlier this month.

The mix of spending cuts, state selloffs and tax hikes demanded by international lenders to reduce Greece's enormous public debt has caused bitter resentment among ordinary Greeks, who have taken to the streets in daily protests.

A two-day general strike is planned next week to coincide with the votes, following a rolling series of strikes at companies including Greece's dominant electricity producer PPC, which is slated for privatisation next year.