Greece has recorded a staggering primary budget surplus of €4.8 billion for 2024 – almost twice the country’s post-bailout austerity targets – according to figures released by ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Authority). The government’s budget forecast had projected a surplus of just 2.5%. Meanwhile, credit rating agency S&P upgraded Greece’s status from BBB- to BBB, maintaining a “stable” outlook.

ELSTAT data also show that Greece’s debt dropped from 163.9% of GDP in 2023 to 153.6% in 2024.

The general government balance, based on ESA 2010 methodology, is estimated to show a surplus of €3.18 billion for 2024, with gross consolidated government debt standing at €364.9 billion – equivalent to 153.6% of GDP.

The primary surplus alone surged to €11.4 billion, up from €4.5 billion the previous year, translating to 4.8% of GDP.

Just hours after the release of these striking figures, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a series of measures aimed at redistributing a portion of the excess surplus in the form of “permanent social support” worth €1 billion – less than a tenth of the primary surplus and around a seventh of the surplus overshoot.

The Prime Minister announced the following measures:

  • A full month’s rent to be reimbursed annually to tenants every November.
  • A direct payment of €250 to 1.5 million pensioners and people with disabilities, also each November.
  • An additional €500 million to be channelled into the Public Investment Programme for infrastructure and social initiatives.

Opposition slams government for “austerity surplus” and minimal social returns

The opposition swiftly condemned PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s announcement of limited social support measures following Greece’s unexpected €11.4 billion primary surplus. They accuse the government of celebrating a “surplus of austerity” while offering only symbolic relief.

SYRIZA-PS leader Sokratis Famellos declared the measures “an admission of guilt for the impoverishment of broad social strata,” adding:

“With aspirin-like handouts, the Prime Minister of high prices and cartels is trying to stop his collapse.” He called for substantial policies like the 13th and 14th salaries, reinstatement of benefits, and reductions in indirect taxes, stressing: “To escape these unjust policies, citizens must escape this government.”

MP Haris Mamoulakis criticized the housing relief as trivial: “One rent a year, while rents have risen 40% since 2020,” and warned that the €500 million for public works “will be devoured by the cartel of four national contractors.”

The Greek Communist Party (KKE) condemned the surplus as a result of “tax plunder” of the working class, calling the relief measures “a mockery” that ignore soaring living costs.

“Instead of the return of the 13th and 14th-month salary, the PM tells retirees and disabled people to settle for €250 a year,” the party stated.

PASOK-KINAL argued the announcements “cannot whitewash an unjust economic policy.” Highlighting rising poverty and housing costs, the party noted: “The dividend of growth has not improved social well-being,” and labeled the rent subsidy “inadequate” amid Europe’s highest housing burden relative to disposable income.

Protests erupt

In response to the government’s measures, groups like “Ξεσπιτόγατος”, which advocate for the right to housing, have called for protests in the two largest cities of the country, Athens and Thessaloniki.

The group sharply criticized the government’s announcement of reimbursing tenants with one month’s rent, describing it as another measure that paves the way for rent profiteering, which is likely to result in further price hikes.

“We respond with mobilisations for housing to put a stop to the skyrocketing rent increases, to abolish the golden visa, to drastically limit Airbnb, and to create public housing at affordable prices,” the group’s call emphasizes.

The group’s statement also underscores the fundamental issue with the government’s approach:

“The Prime Minister’s announcement of reimbursing tenants with one month’s rent every November ‘to address the housing problem’ highlights the government’s flawed understanding of the housing crisis.”

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