Greek prime minister George Papandreou tonight made a final appeal for support from wavering deputies ahead of a vote for unpopular new austerity measures that will take place against the backdrop of one of the biggest strikes Greece has seen in years.
"I'm asking for your support. I'm asking for all parties' support but we will be the ones who will once again bear the burden of this decision," Mr Papandreou told members of his ruling PASOK party.
He rejected any suggestion that Greece would be forced out of the euro as a result of the crisis that has left Athens dependent on foreign support to stave off bankruptcy and appealed to European partners for support.
Parliament is due to vote on measures that include tax hikes, wage cuts, public sector layoffs and changes to collective bargaining rules by Thursday.
Unions have called a 48 hour strike starting tomorrow that is expected to shut down much of the country to protest against the measures.
Ships were grounded and rubbish rotted in the streets of Athens today as angry workers built momentum for what has been billed as "the mother of all strikes" over the package of tax hikes and wage cuts.
A wave of smaller strikes over recent days by groups ranging from rubbish collectors to tax officials, journalists and seamen has given a foretaste of this week's protest which will culminate in mass demonstrations in front of parliament, the scene of violent clashes in June.
The protest, dubbed "the mother of all strikes" by the daily Ta Nea newspaper, is expected to be the biggest since the financial crisis began two years ago, shutting state offices, shops and even providers of everyday staples like bakers.
Costas Tsikrikas, head of the 500,000-strong Adedy union, accused Mr Papandreou's government of blindly pursuing austerity measures that would plunge Greece deeper into recession.
"This will exacerbate recession, unemployment and state revenues will continue to fall, creating a death spiral. It must not continue," Mr Tsikrikas said before urging lawmakers to reject the package in parliament tomorrow and Thursday.
Mr Tsikrikas said the latest measures, which include tax hikes and pay and pensions cuts, would wipe out any hope of growth for the stricken Greek economy, crushed by debt and now in its third year of recession .
"All we're doing every time is waiting for the troika to release the next tranche," he said, referring to inspectors from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund which visit Athens every three months to assess whether Greece deserves new bailout loans.
"The government has to call on the rich to contribute. Workers look more like squeezed lemons now, they can't take it anymore," he said.
Mr Papandreou’s struggling Socialist government, trailing badly in the opinion polls, is being squeezed between the escalating street protests and pressure from lenders dissatisfied with the pace of reform.
As European Union leaders race to put the foundations of a new rescue plan in place in time for a summit on October 23rd, there was growing talk of more direct intervention that would restrict Greek sovereignty in return for more aid.
Some euro zone countries have been pressing for a European Commission taskforce to be given direct powers to intervene in areas such as overseeing the sale of state assets.
The Greek government declined to comment today but any outside taskforce would need to be ready to counter resistance from a society deeply disillusioned with its own political leaders but also increasingly hostile to outside intervention.
Reuters