We have to expect a certain degree of opposition from those public service employees who will incur a reduction in their incomes due to the government’s efforts to curb public spending, because no matter how much one appreciates that protecting the national interest demands certain sacrifices, it is very difficult to come to terms with having to experience a drop in one’s own standard of living.

On the other hand, we must all accept that we are experiencing an extraordinarily difficult situation and that the threat of hitting rock bottom and of bankruptcy are very real. This is why, as a society, we have to draw certain lines, which should be inviolable, not crossed by any union or lobby group. Battle cries by certain labor groups in favor of aggressive mass protest action have no place in a European democracy.

Everyone in Greece is in a state of shock right now but we know that in the short-term the situation is only going to get tougher and the way that we react to it will be a test of maturity for all of us: for the average citizen, for our politicians and for our labor union leaders.