Greece heads for standstill before austerity vote

Greece faces a crucial test this week, with much of the country expected to shut down by a 48-hour strike that will culminate on Thursday as parliament votes on a sweeping package of austerity measures demanded by international lenders.

Greece's two main unions, representing about half of the four-million-strong workforce, have promised one of the biggest strikes since the start of the crisis two years ago, targeting food and fuel supplies, disrupting transport and leaving hospitals to be run by skeleton staff.

Prime Minister George Papandreou, trailing behind badly in opinion polls, has defied the protests, pledging to push through a deeply unpopular package that includes tax hikes, pay and pension cuts, job layoffs and changes to collective pay deals.

His four-seat majority is expected to hold up with the support of smaller opposition parties, but at least two members of the ruling PASOK party could oppose part of the bill when the vote is called, probably in two stages, on Wednesday and Thursday.

With European Union leaders racing to prepare a comprehensive new bailout deal in time for a meeting on Oct. 23, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said it was the week "during which many things, maybe everything, will be decided".

(Reuters)