The government of George Papandreou is expected to survive a no confidence vote in parliament today.  If it does the new government will act on another round of privatization, tax increases and budget cuts.

But the Papandreou government doesn’t look to have the confidence of its people. Weeks of protests against new austerity measures have been confronted with tear gas and a crackdown.

Most economists believe the loans pledged to Greece, instead of preventing default, will only buy time. Observers argue Papandreou must strengthen political stability in order to pass the austerity measures and receive the next loan installment.

Costas Panyatokis is associate professor of sociology at New York City College of Technology at CUNY. His book, Remaking Scarcity: from Capitalist Inefficiency to Economic Democracy, will be published in September. He joins us to discuss what’s at stake for Greece amidst the current political and economic uncertainty.