Europe enters era of belt-tightening

(FT) -- Amid cries of outrage and expressions of disbelief, a new age of austerity has arrived in Europe.
As governments across the eurozone impose cuts on a scale unseen in decades, Greece -- widely seen as the centre of the crisis -- has already seen violent demonstrations and general strikes. Now there is growing concern that such displays of public anger will become more widespread.
Spanish trade unions were on Thursday threatening nationwide walkouts and protests. The shock is palpable in countries which have moved from poverty to prosperity during the decades of almost uninterrupted growth since the second world war and have always enjoyed the material benefits of European Union membership.

"Two things are hard to believe: I can get laid-off and that I'll have to work to 65 to get a pension," says Yannis Adamopoulos, who is a security guard at a state-controlled Greek corporation. Another Greek, Fotis Magriotis, a self-employed civil engineer, has put his sports utility vehicle up for sale. Work is hard to find and taxes on petrol have twice been increased. "There's no alternative to downsizing," he says.