Every passing day investor sentiment looks more like a death sentence for Greece. The mystery to solve is whether there will be a clean and orderly bankruptcy or free-for-all that could also affect Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the euro and the limping global economy.
While down on their luck, the Greek government is not throwing in the towel just yet and is even preparing a bout of recovery measures for what seems like the umpteenth time. Low resolve within the political class, widespread fraud and tax evasion, and continual worsening of the economic crisis has been ruining Greece for the past year and a half. Successive tax hikes, cuts to public spending, economic reforms and talks of privatization were key negative factors.
The latest initiative is a novel, desperate attempt to rusticate the public administration. Greece's Minister of Administrative Reform, Dimitris Repas, sent a circular to all the ministries yesterday. According to a report from the agency Efe, this circular insists on reducing the civil service stall by 30%. More than a circular, this looks like a dire ultimatum that barely concedes ten days to work out a blacklist of positions that will be done away with.
When it rains it pours. The Spanish government assured yesterday that during the past few years it has reduced employment in the public sector by 200 civil servants by not filling positions left vacant due to retirement and firing workers with temporary contracts. Between now and the end of 2015, another 150,000 Spanish workers are walking a thin line.
