Austerity anger: poll finds Greeks dislike Germany
Pedestrians pass next to a beggar in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012.
AP
ATHENS, Greece — Pro-austerity Germany is not the flavor of the month in debt-crippled Greece.
Sentiments ranging from anger to downright hatred dominate Greeks’ view of their country’s biggest international creditor, according to a poll in Thursday’s Epikaira magazine.
Asked to identify their main feelings on Germany, 41 percent of respondents named anger, indignation or fury. An additional 30 percent ranged from disappointment and fear to revulsion. Total positive sentiments were just 8.6 percent.
Some 79 percent said they saw Germany’s role in Europe as negative, while 81 percent offered a poor opinion of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The nationwide VPRC poll of more than 800 people, conducted ahead of Tuesday’s eurozone approval of Greece’s new €130 billion bailout and debt relief deal, gave a 3.5 percent margin of error.