Greece Pushes Further Austerity as People Demonstrate

Some lawmakers, wary of constituents' anger, are opposed to the measures, which must be passed in order for Greece to receive yet another bailout. Failure to enact the plan could lead to a breakdown in the deal and further troubles for the beleaguered country. On Thursday 16 lawmakers wrote to Papandreou demanding full debate within the party on the plan, calling it "a matter of patriotism and democracy."

To add insult to injury, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview to appear on Monday in the newspaper Bildthat Greece has not done enough to address its financial situation. Volker Kauder, a powerful parliamentary floor leader and conservative voice within Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), said on Sunday to the paper that any decision on additional aid for Greece was still to be made.

In the report he was quoted saying, "Greece is trying, but its efforts are insufficient. We've got to use a firmer hand to lead Greece on the route to solidarity [with eurozone countries]." He continued, "We can't let ourselves be influenced by the demonstrations in Greece. It's time that Greece finally becomes a state with central European standards. That's the only way we can prevent Europe from going to seed."