Is Greece Making a Come Back?

             Prime Minister Antonis Samaras seized on new economic data that indicated the country was on track to economic recovery and promised relief to Greeks weary of years of austerity. Citing figures released by the national statistics agency, Samaras said the Greek economy shrank 3.8 percent in the second quarter, significantly less than an estimate of 4.6 percent. It was the smallest contraction since 2010 when Greece signed its first multibillion-euro loan deal with its creditors- the European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
             The improvement is largely the result of an unexpectedly strong rebound in the country's crucial tourism sector with a record 18 million foreign visitors expected this year. Equally encouraging are early indications that the country will achieve this year a primary surplus. Samaras said that achieving the surplus would open the way for two things, in line with an agreement with creditors - some form of debt relief for Greece, but also the chance to help citizens who have been hardest hit by austerity.
             It remains unclear exactly how large the surplus will be; preliminary figures put it at $3.4 billion for the first seven months of the year. Samaras said 70 percent of the surplus would go toward "lightening the injustices" suffered by Greece on low pensions and by members of the police, fire service and coast guard whose salaries have been slashed as part of public sector cutbacks. Greece remains wracked by political and economic instability and ma even need additional bailout money. The IMF warned in a report that a persistent recession, now in its sixth year, and the government's failure to accelerate overhauls might create a $14.5 billion hole in Greece's finances over the next two years. The IMF said Greece's economy could return to growth as early as next year, but that forecast comes with a question mark, given that that output has fallen 25 percent since its peak in 2007 while unemployment has surged to 27 percent - the highest in the Eurozone - and youth joblessness tops 57 percent.
            This article was written in the New York Times on October 2. I, personally, did not know about the economic problems that Greece was having. Well, I knew that they had a problem, but I didn't know how bad it was. But, with this new evidence, it looks like they could be due for a come back. Then hopefully, they will try to not make the same mistake again in the future.