He was also happy to report that nuisance complaints about roaming bands of city dogs had also fallen dramatically, month by month, but admitted he thought the decrease was due to people eating them. Cats are also fewer.

Whereas the poor have always been able to cope and have no qualms about searching through rubbish bins, the middle class - the hardest hit - have found it the most difficult. Pride prevents them from raiding rubbish and they don’t often resort to begging at traffic lights. If it weren’t for the charities that manage soup kitchens and food distributions for some families, there would be much more crime.

As you can see in the photographs there is little street lighting and the few cars running are conspicuous due to their headlights. There are also very few young people, as so many have left Greece to look for work elsewhere, hoping to be able to send money back to their families. Fortunately, Greek children have always been adept at learning foreign languages and this ability has proved a major asset to them in this time of crisis

Our correspondent visited a branch of the Carrefour supermarkets to see what was available. Goods are now placed in two sections. One for diplomats, politicians, bankers and the better heeled who can pay in Standard Euros, the other for those operating in MiniYuros.

At the MiniYuro meat counter, the butcher whispered to our correspondent that he had a couple of legs of fresh dog worth roasting, otherwise there was only a scrawny cat left. However he did recommend the fox and hedgehog that had been brought in today. “It’s quite amazing what you can do with a fox, you know. It’s got much more of a game taste than your average dog.”

We asked Mr Trokala, a well established politician, what he thought of the situation and were quite surprised at the answer. “Historically speaking, it has been much worse at times in the past; and yet, many survived. And in recent years we have the example of Argentina which took only 7 years to recover. So I have great hopes we will pull through it. My wife,” he said, “considers it a good opportunity for self-control. She only eats one chocolate bar a day, now and advises others to do the same.”

The Banking Federation, who were mainly responsible for the situation in the first place, have tried to help those who find it impossible to cover their debts. They are now accepting payments in body parts, such as kidneys or part of the liver. These can be made immediately for a sizable portion of debt; with the rest of the organs to be donated after death. “This way,” explained a spokesperson for the BF, “we help people continue their lives with the minimum of discomfort. A transplant kidney will earn the donor €5000.” The body parts are then sold in countries where people, like bankers, have the means to purchase them.

Tourists holidaying in Greece over the festive season have police escorts, and are generally only allowed to travel to certain destinations, like the Acropolis, the National Museum and approved shopping areas during their stay. Plaka has recently been added to their list as the restaurants now take only Euros in payment. Passports and evidence of possessing this currency must be shown at police checkpoints in order to enter the area.

“The last thing we want is for tourists to have hungry faces staring at their piled plates, you know, while they are eating,” said Trokala. “It wouldn’t be good for either their digestion or tourism.”

A representative of the Troika, the general name given to the BF, now managing Greece, Portugal and Spain, told us they are trying to standardise food procedures for people in these countries. “All those who work at BF approved jobs, get 1500 calories a day, so no one is actually starving. Of course, they can’t live as they did before, but it is their own fault the country got into debt in the first place. I’m sure you realise that we don’t actually have to help them, but bankers are compassionate people at heart!”

We asked a well placed member of the BF, who preferred to remain anonymous, whether it would have been better to let Greece default on its loans a year ago. “Well, better for whom,” he said. “Bankers and investors would have lost most of their loans, and would also have missed a rare opportunity to gain control of a whole country. Now with Spain and Portugal also in the Federation, we have a nation bloc that is a viable business alternative to the former EU and proving quite attractive to wealthy investors. It is also much easier to govern. Hunger kills the will to resist. We expect Italy to be incorporated soon and maybe Ireland, too. You may also recall, at this point, the words attributed to Jacques Delors: “for true unity of Europe, every nation needs to be bankrupted first.”