The Greek finance ministry building in central Athens faces Syntagma Square, ground zero for the mass anti-austerity protests and riots that cripple the city and sometimes set its streets ablaze every few months or so. Although the protests have become less frequent recently, the building is still an armed camp.
Riot police bristling with armour and weapons still loiter outside its entrances. The steel shield over the main entrance door is rolled halfway down, forcing visitors to duck to get in. The high security is not paranoia.
Rioters love to attack the building and bullet holes have been found in the windows. In early February, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras received a curiously lumpy envelope in the mail. It contained a 9mm bullet and a note warning him against seizing the assets of Greek citizens who fail to pay their taxes.
Mr. Stournaras, 56, is an economist who has been finance minister since last summer, when he was recruited by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, leader of the centre-right New Democracy party. Although most of the harsh austerity measures were in place before he arrived, he is busy carving another €8-billion ($10.7-billion) out of government spending, meaning he knows that he may be a hunted man as the cuts trigger more job losses.
He doesn’t move without armed guards. “Some of the people hate me,” he says. “But we must keep our nerve.”
Read more: Spending cuts, a bullet and bodyguards: The life of Greece's finance minister - The Globe and Mail
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