Fresh strikes rocked Greece as lawmakers voted yesterday on draconian budget cuts and Prime Minister George Papandreou tried to clinch support from Germany to combat the national debt crisis.
Mr Papandreou's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin are seen as key to his efforts to restore credibility in the eyes of the markets after he unveiled a €4.8 billion euro package of cuts.
Greece's two main unions brought traffic to a standstill with a public sector strike intended as a shot across the bows of the Socialist government.
No public transport ran in Athens in the morning, all Greek airports were to close for a four-hour period and giant traffic jams clogged the centre of the capital.
Teachers, state and private media groups were also hit by the strike. Even the police union called on its members to join protests organised for the day.
But despite the unions' show of strength, Parliament was expected to approve Mr Papandreou's third package of austerity measures which analysts have described as the most dramatic in peacetime by a developed nation.
The government on Wednesday increased sales, tobacco and alcohol taxes and cut public sector holiday allowances. Pensions were also frozen in a package worth the equivalent of around two per cent of gross domestic product.
Athens has promised the European Union that it will reduce its public deficit this year by four percentage points from 12.7 per cent.
Ms Merkel, leader of the single currency eurozone's biggest hitter, welcomed the Greek package as "an important step" towards cutting its budget deficit and restoring trust in Athens and the euro.
Germany is widely seen as the most likely candidate to help prevent what would be a disastrous Greek default on its debts but there is strong opposition in the country against such a move.
Greece, needing to borrow money urgently to pay its bills, successfully raised an urgently needed €5 billion with a bond issue on Thursday.
But it had to pay an interest rate significantly above six per cent, or about twice the rate at which Germany can borrow.
Greece's borrowing costs shot up late last year when it was hit with a triple downgrade by credit agencies after revealing that its official budget deficit figures had been grossly under-reported.
Mr Papandreou is looking for some form of expression of "solidarity" which would enable Greece to share some of the credibility attached to other eurozone governments so future bonds can be issued at a lower rate.
In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, the Greek premier insisted he was "not asking for money" but other forms of support.
"We need support from the European Union and our partners to obtain credit on the markets at better conditions. If we do not receive this aid, we will not be able to enact the changes we foresee."
Speaking ahead of the meeting between Ms Merkel and Mr Papandreou, Germany's Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said Berlin would not give Athens "one cent".
"Papandreou said that he didn't want one cent - in any case the German government will not give one cent," Mr Bruederle told reporters.
Media reports have suggested that for all the stern words, Germany is drawing up contingency plans behind the scenes including either bilateral aid, joint European action or help from the International Monetary Fund.