Vast majority of Greeks pessimistic about economy
A Eurobarometer survey published in Brussels on Tuesday found that an overwhelming 98 percent of Greeks believe that the state of the national economy is “bad,” as are the personal finances of 78 percent of respondents.
The results of the survey, which was conducted from May 11-25 in Greece, found that 58 percent of Greeks are not optimistic about their professional lives either, compared to an EU average of 30 percent.
In regards to their expectations for the next year, 62 percent of Greeks believe that the situation in the country will deteriorate further before it gets better, though this does show a 14 percent improvement in sentiment from the fall of 2012 when the previous survey was conducted, but continues to compare bleakly with the EU average of 11 percent.
The two biggest challenges Greece faces are unemployment and the economic slump according to 65 percent and 49 percent respectively, with the corresponding EU averages coming in at 51 percent and 33 percent.
On a personal level, Greeks’ biggest concerns are their finances (31 percent compared to the EU average of 18 percent), high taxation (30 percent compared to 16 percent), unemployment (27 percent compared to 22 percent) and the high cost of living (28 percent compared to 41 percent).
Asked whether they trust their government, 90 percent of those questioned in Greece said that they do not, while 89 percent also said that they do not have faith in the country’s parliament and 80 percent said they don’t trust the European Union. The corresponding EU averages were 17 percent, 68 percent, 50 percent.
Furthermore, just 4 percent of Greeks believe in the country’s political parties, below a rather underwhelming EU average of 16 percent.
Another 68 percent of Greeks and 35 percent of Europeans said that the present conditions do not allow them to make plans for the future.
