Athens: Just over half the Greek population think resorting to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for aid to pull out of a debt crisis will hurt their country, an opinion poll showed yesterday.
Greece, facing a debt crisis that has rocked the euro zone, is holding talks with European and IMF officials on the terms of a 40-45 billion euro financial backstop.
The cash-strapped country is still pushing to fin-ance its debt through market issuance, but it was forced yesterday to tap the IMF package. The IMF said the crisis could spread into other euro members if left unchecked.
The poll by Public Issue for Skai TV showed that 51 per cent see the IMF's involvement as harmful while only 27 per cent think it would be beneficial.
"As regards other countries which borrowed from the IMF, 52 per cent of those asked think they did not benefit, while 28 per cent said they did," Skai TV said.
Only 47 per cent of those asked said they trusted Prime Minister George Papandreou to handle the economy compared to 55 per cent in a similar poll in February.
The poll showed that 87 per cent of Greeks were worried about the country's public debt, which based on government projections will hit 120 per cent of GDP this year.
A bigger percentage thinks the overborrowed country could go bankrupt compared to February — 55 compared to 38 per cent.
"As to the time it will take for Greece to effectively tackle its debt, 32 per cent of those asked think the country will need five to 10 years, with 20 per cent saying three to five years," Skai TV said.
Based on the poll, conducted nationwide April 20-21, 96 per cent of Greeks expect unemployment to rise, 71 per cent think social unrest is likely and 78 per cent said it is better for Greece to stay in the euro zone.
Thousands of striking Greek civil servants marched on Thursday to protest against austerity measures, warning of a social explosion if the government agreed further cuts in aid talks with the EU and IMF.
