[1] Is Greece's economic nightmare over?

Date: 2019.3.14
Article:
We’re in Athens’ famous Syntagma Square where not too long ago, citizens filled this space to protest against the
government and its austerity measures. Images of riots, strikes and public demonstrations in Greece have reached the
whole world, mostly in the last decade. After nearly a decade of protests and three bailout programs, is Greece finally
out of the woods? Actually, I think the crisis still exists, it’s not only the financial crisis, but it’s also a crisis about our
values. I don’t think we have seen any improvement. There are many people that don’t have work. Greece’s
unemployment rate has come down, but it is still the highest in the Eurozone. In 2017, it reached 21.5 percent-more
than double the euro area’s average. Among young people, the figure is even higher. More than 43 percent of those
aged between 15 and 24 could not find a job in 2017. Me and my friends feel the same, we are scared, we don’t know
what we can change. Some kids are educated, and they don’t find jobs so they are going to Europe, which is a loss for
Greece. Greece’s financial nightmare began in 2010 when the prime minister asked the European Union and
International Monetary Fund for help. He knew that without their assistance, the country would go bankrupt. You see.
Greece’s public deficit was much larger than what had previously been forecast. In other words, it borrowed way too
much money and investors began to worry whether Athens could actually repay all of its debt. That year, Greece’s
public debt hit 140 percent of its GDP and continued to grow. To this day, its debt still sits above 170 percent of GDP,
the highest among EU nations. The first financial help program granted by the IMF and the other Eurozone countries
totaled about 120 billion US dollars. But it wasn’t enough to save Greece. Athens got a second bailout program in
2012 and then another in 2015. It came to an end last summer. Greece has come a long way from the peak of the crisis.
The economy grew 1.5 percent in 2017. Compare that to its contraction of more than 9 percent in 2011. The most
recent forecasts from the European Commission suggest Greece will grow at a rate of 2.2 percent this year. Greece’s
banks have reduced the number of bad loans and there is growing interest from foreign investors in buying certain
Greek assets. But analysts say that the recovery is fragile, and Greeks I speak to complain they don’t feel an
improvement in their lives. Some people have good jobs, but the others, they’re suffering, they’re paying like 85
percent taxes, which is very hard to get by. You risk losing your house if you don’t have enough money to pay the
94 percent of Greek people believe that the state of the economy is bad. They think the biggest issue facing Greece is high
unemployment, followed by the economic situation. This is particularly important ahead of a general election later in the
year. The government is currently being run by the left-wing party Syriza. Its mandate ends in September, which means
Greeks will head to the polls in October, if not sooner. Do you expect any change with a new government? No. I don’t
believe it will help, no, any government will do the same thing, I believe. There is no alternative, the neo-liberalism politics
that the whole of the European Union is following so. The future will be tough for everyone. Greece’s economic recovery is
taking some time to fully materialize, but perhaps more important is how the Greeks feel, mainly ahead of a general
election later this year. Hi guys, thank you so much for watching. If you liked our report out of Athens. Check out more of
our videos and don’t forget to subscribe. I’ll see you soon.