In 2010, Greece found itself at the epicentre of the global economic crisis and was forced to implement draconian measures in an attempt to arrest the crisis and meet the conditions of the IMF/EU bailouts. Attitudes in favour or against the austerity package have since dominated party politics and have divided public opinion to the extent that they may have resulted in a major realignment of the political system. Despite the significance of this debate however, public and elite attitudes remain mixed and poorly understood and the relationship between the two scarcely analysed. At this major juncture in Greek politics and society, this paper seeks to explore how attitudes to austerity are constituted and its implications. It does so by drawing on multi-wave panel survey data charting Greek public opinion and electoral behaviour since 2010 and contrasting it to elite positions towards austerity. Among others, the analysis explores questions relating to who is to blame for the crisis, what solutions are preferred and at what cost, and how the austerity debate is linked to or informed by broader political attitudes and values and other contextual factors.
