More than 40 buildings were set ablaze in an orgy of looting that left scores injured as protesters vented their anger at the caretaker government and parliament's ordering of a further €3.3 billion of savings by slashing wages and pensions and laying off public sector workers.

In return, Greece is to receive a second euro-zone bailout in two years worth €130 billion in addition to a €100 billion write-down of debt by the bankrupt country's private creditors.

There was turmoil inside the parliament, too. MPs (Members of Parliament) voted 199-74 in favor of the cutbacks, despite strong dissent among the two main coalition members.

A total of 37 politicians from the majority Socialists and conservative New Democracy party either voted against the party line or abstained. A further six voted against sections of the legislation. After the vote, the government announced that those 43 ministers had been expelled.

But the scenes of mayhem on the streets of Athens and all across the country leave big questions unresolved regarding Greece's capacity to stick with the savage austerity. The country is in its fifth year of recession and has little prospect of halting a steep decline in living standards.