国际英语新闻：Poll shows most Greeks have no confidence in gov't amid crisis

ATHENS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An opinion poll released on Sunday showed that most of the Greeks have no confidence in the government's ability to handle the current economic crisis.

About 64 percent of the respondents said that they have "very little or a little" confidence that the socialist PASOK government could lead the country out of the crisis and into a better future, according to the survey conducted for the newspaper Paron.

Some 35 percent of the respondents said they do not trust the government's ability at all.

Some 55 percent of Greeks said they are not willing to accept any more austerity measures in the future, while 45 percent said if there are no other options, they will make more sacrifices in the end.

Greece sank into a serious debt crisis in late 2009, when the newly-elected socialist government implemented a series of harsh austerity measures and reforms in a bid to cut the budget deficit, solve chronic malfunctions in the national economy and avoid a possible default.

Fearing that the Greek crisis might spread across the eurozone, other European countries mounted pressure on Athens to put its finances in order.

In May, a newly-created support mechanism was activated by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to assist Greece financially with low interest loans over a three-year period, under the conditions that the Greek government proceeded quickly to fully implement the measures and reforms.