Striking Greeks took to the streets on Thursday to protest austerity measures, setting Alexis Tsipras’ government its biggest domestic challenge since he was re-elected in September, promising to cushion the impact of economic hardship.
“The strike will be the people’s response to the dogmatic insistence on dead-end and destructive policies that have squeezed out workers and have led young people to lose hope,” private-sector union GSEE said in a statement before the protest.
Illustrating the political juggling act Mr Tsipras is trying to pull off, the ruling party came out in support of the strike, saying industrial action strengthened the government’s hand in talks with lenders.
It called for a “mass participation” in Thursday’s strike, determined to continue the struggle against “anti-social, extreme neoliberal policies”.
The Belgian finance minister described the move as “strange and dangerous logic” on Twitter.
Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili denied suggestions that leftist SYRIZA was trying to play both sides in supporting the anti-austerity strike.
“We are implementing an agreement which includes [bailout] measures that are unfair,” Ms Gerovasili said.
Thousands of GSEE and its public sector sister union ADEDY members took to the streets in central Athens and marched by the parliament while Greece’s foreign lenders prepared to meet in central Athens to review compliance with its latest bailout.
Flights were grounded, hospitals ran on skeleton staff, ships were docked at port and public offices stayed shut across the country in the first nationwide walkout called by Greece’s largest private and public sector unions in a year.
Greek police fired tear gas to disperse street protesters who were hurling petrol bombs at the Greek Central Bank, and brief clashes ensued.
Three people were reportedly detained before order was restored.

Source: Kathimerini, Reuters