Just 20 Percent Back Greek Austerity: Poll

Just 20 percent of the Greek electorate believe the country should abide by the terms of the European Union/International Monetary Fund loan agreement and pay off all its debts, according to a poll in a Greek newspaper.

The Parthenon in Greece
Scott E. Barbour | Getty Images
The Parthenon in Greece

The poll in the Kathimerini newspaper found two thirds of respondents believe Greece will default at some pointwith 17 percent thinking this is the correct course for the government to take.

53 percent of those polled back restructuring of some sort and a third of those polled blame the politicians for getting the country into its current predicament, the poll said.

Policy makers in Europe are divided on how best to deal with the debt crisis. European Central Bank board member Nout Wellink said on Wednesday that restructuring could lead to a chain reaction across Europe that would hit banks and other periphery countries.

Others, including a number of German officials believe some form of restructuring is the only way to resolve Greece’s solvency problem.