Publication

This paper discusses the fiscal policies of Greece's Syriza government in view of its electoral promise to never run a primary deficit and its disagreement with its creditors. The author suggests that the Syriza government has broken its electoral promise and is in fact now running a primary deficit, while 1) not paying the institutions that provide support for the neediest members of society, such as local governments, social funds, and hospitals; 2) cutting government investment; and 3) relying on extraordinary items for revenue, such as EU funds that were meant to be spent over the entire year. He notes that achieving even a primary balance in order to pay salaries and pensions on time will require further (recessionary) measures, a move that the Syriza government seems to be unwilling to take.