Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was Wednesday hoping to win the backing of his Socialist party for a new wave of tough austerity measures that have been met with fierce criticism, dpa reported. The government's mid-term fiscal plan, which would impose 6.4 billion euros (9.4 billion dollars) in extra cuts this year alone, has come under fire by a number of deputies within Papandreou's party. The government wants parliament to decide on the plan before the end of June and rejection would probably force early elections. The country is on the brink of insolvency, despite securing a 110-billion-euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year. Since receiving the financial help, the Greek government has battled to cut the nation's high debt-and-deficit levels against the backdrop of falling international investor confidence in the country and widespread street protests triggered by moves to slash public spending. In a related development, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble weighed in on the discussion, for the first time calling for a restructuring of Greek debt. In a letter to the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank (ECB), Schaeuble warned of the threat of a Greek bankruptcy if Athens' heavily-indebted government did not receive a second rescue package. Germany is a leading contributor of EU bailout packages.
