( CNN ) -- Over the course of five days , the Greek government -- led by the understated conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras -- overcame two high hurdles in a dash to qualify for the austerity program set out by the so-called troika , made up of the European Central Bank , the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission . The first hurdle was the parliamentary vote last week , when the austerity measures were passed by just 153 votes out of 300 . The second important vote took place in the wee hours of Sunday night in Athens , this time with a comfortable margin of victory as 167 of 300 lawmakers voted for , in essence , more austerity . But in the spirit of a Greek tragedy , much political blood has been spilt along the way . Those who voted against the measures were tossed out of the coalition parties , while members of the Democratic Left abstained due to the labor reforms that were built into the overall plan . This has been a very messy process , with the troika leaning on the relatively new government to deliver what Greece had promised before the current administration came to power following the elections last June . In large part , the restructuring is now there and Greece is telling the troika : `` Show me the money . '' The implicit agreement on the table : Greece delivers another $ 17 billion in cuts over two years from labor reforms and tops that off with a new 2013 budget . The troika then puts up the final instalment of $ 40 billion to avoid defaulting on bonds which start coming due November 16 . But all of a sudden , there seems to be disagreement in the ranks and backlash from some eurozone member countries not happy with the measures . As one Greek CEO messaged me last night after our coverage of the vote : `` We kept our side of the bargain ; we need to see delivery from the other side too . '' The budget for 2013 makes for painful reading . A projected contraction of 4.5 % next year and a record sixth year of recession , with the economy shrinking more than 30 % in that time frame . Public debt to GDP is due to increase to 189 % , having risen more than 50 % since this whole crisis started . Unemployment last week hit a record 25.4 % with youth unemployment leaping to 58 % . Another Greek executive I spoke with last night after the vote said the population has entered a new phase of acceptance . State workers have taken salary and pension cuts ranging from 15 % to 40 % , taxes on electric bills have soared , the retirement age has been bumped up to 67 years from 65 years . Finally , the real shrinking of the state sector is taking place . The state payroll will fall by 125,000 between 2012 and 2016 through attrition and real layoffs . Some of the special pay packages for certain ministries , such as the Ministry of Finance , have been eliminated and salaries have been capped . Some 40 senior employees at the Bank of Greece , the central bank , walked off the job for good in protest of the 5,000 euro salary cap . Change was a long time coming , but it has happened . This is a critical time . Some 70,000 workers took to the streets in central Greece last week for one last fight of resistance against the austerity . Samaras said it was a vote `` for '' or `` against '' the isolation of Greece . He was suggesting that Greeks will soon see the flickering light at the end of the tunnel , with the full backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel after her recent , high profile public show of support in Athens . Political statements may be offered by the members of the eurozone this week , something the Greek technocratic Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras promised . One thing is abundantly clear at this stage . For the state workers who have taken salary hits and for the one million private sector workers who have lost their jobs due to economic depression : The cash lifeline needs to be delivered .
The Greek government has overcome two hurdles to qualify for the troika 's austerity program . But in the spirit of a Greek tragedy , much political blood has been spilt along the way . The budget for 2013 makes for painful reading , including a contraction of 4.5 % next year . This is not an easy thing to do when you are already facing huge tax increases and spending cuts. The cash lifeline needs to be delivered .