New Greek Budget Projects an Huge Increase in Debt as a Percent of GDP
The Greeks have released their budget for 2013, and it's a shocker. Included in the budget are the following figures:
- Debt-to-GDP will rise to 189.1 percent in 2013 (revised up from 179.3 percent)
- The government will target a budget deficit of 5.2 percent of GDP (revised up from 4.2 percent)
- 2012 GDP will contract by 4.5 percent (revised up from 3.8 percent)
- The government will target a primary surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP (revised down from 1.1 percent)
This budget is worse than the 2010 projections. Zerohedge put together a graph illustrating just how much worse the projections are two years on (budget released today in blue, 2010 projections in red):
The IMF had been hoping that the Greeks would manage to get their debt to GDP down to 120 percent by 2020. Considering that the newest budget projects a debt to GDP rate of 184.9 percent in 2016 it is unlikely that this goal will be reached.
The budget comes ahead of a vote on the economic reforms being demanded by international lenders. Without the reforms being agreed to Greece will not receive its next bailout installment. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will be facing opposition from his own coalition partners to get the reforms passed.
Greece's main union has already scheduled strikes for next week in protest against the austerity measures included in the reforms.
