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The radical leftist Syriza party is leading
opinion polls, triggering fears of a standoff with EU/IMF
lenders that could result in Greece leaving the euro zone.
Syriza has pledged to cancel austerity policies imposed as part
of Greece's 240 billion euro bailout, and try to negotiate debt
relief.
The Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE)said
its overall sentiment index for the Greek economy fell to 98.9
points in December from 102.7 in November.
The index is based on consumer confidence gauges and readings of
the business outlook in sectors including construction,
manufacturing industry, retail trade and services.
The index had shown an almost steady improvement since the start
of 2014, registering its best readings for six years as the
economy began to emerge from a deep recession.
It hit a high of 104.1 points in June 2014 after averaging out
at 90.8 in 2013 and at 80.3 in 2012.
IOBE noted a weakening of expectations in all sectors of the
economy in December except construction, with consumer
confidence also worsening markedly.
"A period of improving expectations was halted as the political
uncertainty that emerged in December in view of national
elections affected businesses and consumers," IOBE said.
Based on the survey, Greek households remained the most
pessimistic in Europe, with 63 percent expecting their financial
situation to worsen in the next 12 months.
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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