La crise économique en Grèce

The social model adopted by Greece after the fall of the dictatorship of the colonels, in 1974, was based on generous public spending and the preservation of an oversize public sector. This one represents approximately 40 % of the GDP and Greece counts about 800.000 civil state employees on a working population of 5 million persons. Since its entrance to the Eurozone, the national debt was always superior to 100 % of the GDP.

Greece did not know how to fight the corporatism and the guaranteed incomes, in the private and public sectors. The inflation was strong in the country and caused a loss of competitiveness which led to a strong deficit of the trade balance.

Besides, the deficit of the common balance exceeded, in 2008, the 16 % of the GDP. The Greeks had begun consuming much more that they produced and had to find almost 40 billion euro to finance this consumption.

The Greek government made a lot to enter the Euro but the reforms were not made. Besides, the successive governments since the seventies and the end of the dictatorship did not try to create a real rule of law.

The membership of the country to the European Union in 1981 was wanted by European political personalities although the country is not ready: with a plethoric administrative system. The administration represents 7 % of the GDP when the European average is 3 %.

The tax fraud is the other consequence of the secret economy. A plague which is expressed by a 15 billion euro loss of income a year for the State, according to Minister of Finance, Georges Papaconstantinou.

Besides, the underground economy continues to prosper, in particular in the services and the tourism. The IMF estimates between 20 % and 30 % of the GDP of the country the weight of the informal economy.

The global economic crisis pointed its nose in 2009, with sudden lapels in the tourism and the sea transport, two essential business sectors. Its two main branches of industry were severely affected and saw their income falling of 15 % in 2009.

Nevertheless, the conservative government of time did not make his the requirement of a bigger budgetary discipline. He preferred to make up the public accounts, as in 2004. The national debt amounted to 142,5 % of the GDP at the end the first quarter 2011 and should represent 158 % of the GDP at the end of 2011.

According to Christoforos Sardelis, who managed the Agency of management of the Greek national debt from 1999 till 2004, Greece would have used on the advice of Goldman Sachs the contracts of swaps of exchange to move artificially many years' the payment of interest of its debt.

To place its bonds of the national debt the Greek government counted on the foreign investors in particular the European banks who would hold 70 % of the titles of the Greek debt.

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