Reuters Report Shows Surprising Acceptance Of Austerity Measures By Greeks

Surprising to me, anyway. In a Reuters article which speculates that the recently-announced austerity package will be matched by non-cash EU aid, such as Euroland state-owned banks buying Greek government bonds or a loan guarantee for new Grecian government issues, it's reported that there's underlying support for the belt tightening:

Despite a series of one-day strikes by unions, public opinion polls show strong support for austerity in principle if the pain is distributed equitably. A poll last month showed 76 percent of Greeks thought there should be no strike action until the crisis had passed.

That support, though, may be contingent upon an expectation that "equitably" includes a bailout. One tactic the Greek government could use would be to threaten to go to the IMF, which would embarrass the EU.


Although not directly tied to this article, the overall clearing of the crisis has led to a drop in the U.S. Dollar Index. As of 11:09 AM ET, it was below 80. Gold has responded in kind: as of 11:12 AM, the metal was at $1,142.40.