THE Greek economy fell further into deep recession in the first quarter of the year, according to the Greek Statistics Authority (EL.STAT.) who announced a 6.5 per cent drop in the country’s GNP in the first three months of this year.
Estimates based on this figure predict a six per cent slump for 2012 as opposed to 6.95 per cent for last year. In this year’s first three months Greece’s output reached 40.6bn euros, the lowest since 2005.
According to EL.STAT., exports rose by just 1.4 per cent in the year’s first quarter against the same period in 2011, while imports declined by 16.6 per cent due to shrinking consumption. Thus the current account deficit contracted by 41.9 per cent, due to the growing hunger of the Greek people.
Industrial production fell by 6.3 per cent in the January-April period of this year.
Car and motorbike sales declined by a phenomenal 45 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
The deep slump brought down the official inflation index to 1.7 per cent but this figure is misleading in terms of foodstuffs, drinks and petrol which went up by more than 2.5 per cent.
The election campaign for next Sunday’s June 17 poll indicates that the left is heading for an unprecedented victory, according to opinion polls and reports.
The real target of the EC and the German bankers is the Greek workers’ and youths’ revolutionary struggle which smashed up the pro-Accord bourgeois parties in the last election.
Meanwhile the fascist gangs of the Golden Dawn party, that got seven per cent in last May’s election, are carrying on with their attacks on opponents, workers, youth and immigrant workers.
In Athens anti-fascist and anti-racist organisations organised a march against the Golden Dawn attacks demanding: ‘Nazis out of parliament’.
