Only four national economies have shrunk more than Greece’s over the past decade, two of which involve countries plagued by civil war, while the other two are described as “corrupt dictatorship” wholly dependent on petro-dollars.
The argument was made by the Washington Post, which, just as pessimistically, forecasts another four decades of austerity for the country.
In commencing its assessment of Greece, however, the Post points to the end of the memorandum years and the fact that the country will again stand on its own two feet after three successive bailouts. On the “down side”, the article maintains that Greece’s foreign debt load continues to be extremely high, while growth is weak and the private sector excessively fragile.
In its most pessimistic statement, the WP dismisses Europe’s celebratory reactions of a Greek “success story”, saying rather that the implosion in the east Mediterranean country was one of the world’s greatest economic meltdowns, excluding instances of war and revolution.
Only Libya, Yemen, Venezuela and Guinea fared worse, the Post claims – while data for war-ravaged Syria was not available.
