Gloomy Greeks see crisis lasting more than 2 yrs

A survey by polling agency Metron Analysis for newspaper Eleftheros Typos, conducted nationwide from Feb 18 to March 9, showed that 66.5 percent of Greeks believe the country's fiscal crisis will last more than two years.

The latest poll shows declining support for austerity measures imposed by the ruling socialists to bring Greece out of a debt crisis shaking the euro.

"It's the first time such a negative sentiment is recorded," the conservative paper said.

Based on the poll, 67.6 percent of respondents feel the socialist government's package of austerity measures, including public sector pay cuts and higher VAT rates, are unfair with 56 percent saying they are necessary.

The survey showed that 64.4 percent were not willing to make sacrifices to cope with the 4.8 billion euro (4.31 billion pound) austerity package.

Greece is targeting a fiscal adjustment of four percentage points to shrink its budget gap to 8.7 percent of GDP this year, with its 240 billion euro economy seen contracting by 2 percent, based on recent central bank projections.

Greece raised the stakes on Thursday in its quest for EU help to tackle the debt crisis, saying it cannot deliver promised deficit cuts if borrowing costs stay high and that it may have to turn to the IMF.

On the issue of aid to deal with the debt crisis, the poll showed 72 percent thinks Greece will need help from the European Union.

Prime Minister George Papandreou remained the most popular Greek political leader with a 49 percent approval rate and his socialist party way ahead of the conservative opposition New Democracy, which many Greeks blame for the debt crisis.

Overall, 86.4 percent said they were pessimistic on the country's economic course but only 27.7 percent believed it will go bankrupt.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; editing by Myra MacDonald)