The government is apparently shying away from a bevy of recent high-profile comments by ministers and government officials over a possible “renegotiation” with creditors over the looming next reduction in Greek pension rates, set for Jan. 1, 2019.
“The finance minister, myself, and the prime minister, the latter even more so, have said that there’s no such issue within the framework of negotiations for an exit from the program,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Monday.
Speaking on a local radio station, Tzanakopoulos merely added that the government is dedicated to achieving a positive agreement for debt relief and the post-memorandum supervision regime, as he said.
In a related development, 46 main opposition New Democracy (ND) deputies tabled a question in Parliament requesting information on the level of social security spending cuts next year.
The tabled question, addressed to the labor minister, among others, reads: “Deputies and ministers of the government, in a completely irresponsible manner, are making ambiguous statements over looming cuts, without SYRIZA’s commitments (to creditors) having been altered in the slightest.”
Finally, amid growing speculation, mostly by the media and opposition, of snap elections, ruling SYRIZA parliamentary group spokesman Nikos Xydakis told reporters on Monday that “whatever happens after the end of the program (bailout), isn’t an early election”.
