By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

The discussion on a last-minute support measure was opened by Prime Minister with his phrase of “scraping the bottom of the barrel” in order to strengthen those who really need it.

At the moment the government’s hands are tied as it is determined to keep the primary surplus of 1.1% in check which will pave the way for it to regain investment grade from S&P and Fitch who decide 20/10 and 1/ 12 respectively.
But anything above 1.1% achieved by the end of the year could come back as support with the intervention due to budgetary possibilities and EU rules not being able to be horizontal.

The Ministry of Finance will have an idea of ​​whether or not there will be a fiscal margin at the end of November, shortly before the submission of the final draft budget expected on 21/11. However, according to information from skai.gr., the projections show that the final result could be 0.1-0.2 points above 1.1% and therefore create a margin of roughly €220-440 million. Resources that could be used in various ways:

– Accuracy check with the same beneficiaries that was given at Christmas 2022 and Easter 2023. That is, the low pensioners of €600-800, the uninsured elderly and the beneficiaries of disability allowances. The cost of the measure was approximately €232 million.

-Extension of the market pass for 2 more months until the end of the year for the whole territory – today it only applies to the affected households of Evia, Thessaly and Evros. 2 months of extension would cost about €168 million.

-If conditions on the international fuel market worsen, the intervention could also concern heating oil or unleaded oil. The fuel pass cost €300 million, the fuel pump subsidy €217 million, while the heating oil subsidy €94 million

– Of course, no one can rule out some measure of surprise, while depending on the final size of the fiscal space that may arise, it is clear that a combination of interventions can be made.

And while the government has to wait until the end of the year to make – if it can – an additional easing move, the precision it insists on has brought Greek consumers to their limits. According to the data of the Commission, the consumer confidence of the Greeks in September declined so much that they are now considered the most pessimistic in Europe. Hungarians and Slovenians follow at a fairly long distance.

-Almost 4/10 households (37%) expect their financial situation to worsen in the next 12 months
-84% consider that they will not save
-14% eats from ready meals to make ends meet