Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reverted to a more defiant stance on Friday vis-a-vis creditors’ demands and the increasingly complicated factors bedeviling the Greek adjustment program, such as perceived hesitation by the IMF, a now-delayed second review of the third bailout and uncertainty after its expiration in mid 2018.
Tsipras, who rode to office atop a popular wave of anti-bailout and anti-austerity discontent, said his government will not enact additional measures after 2018. The only exception he mentioned was the extension of an automatic spending cuts mechanism — and then “only one year,” as he said.
His comments came during a meeting with representatives of pensioners’ groups at his office on Friday.
He also insisted that another one-time bonus could be allocated in 2017 to “weaker social groups”, in case a primary budget surplus target is exceeded, similar to the 2016 result.
The leftist coalition government forked over 617 million euros to 1.6 million pensioners last month, with beneficiaries being anyone earning less than 850 euros a month in social security benefits, regardless of assets or wealth criteria. The abrupt spending measure earned an immediate rebuke by European creditors, with the relevant FinMin forced to send a Christmas Eve letter essentially promising not to proceed with a similar action without prior consultation.
