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🇬🇷 Greece /Elections & Politics

The war of numbers

From Kathimerini · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Greek government accuses Alexis Tsipras’ party of overstating the cost of promised benefits, while the party says the government’s calculations were improvised for political communication.
  • Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis says a proposal cited as €500 a month for 80,000 students would amount to €125 a month under the party’s own cost estimate.
  • The dispute also covers funding for housing, municipal commitments and which assets should be included in a proposed wealth register.

The government and Alexis Tsipras’ party are locked in a battle over the numbers behind the former prime minister’s policy announcements. The government accuses the party of promising benefits it cannot finance, while Tsipras’ side says the government rushed its calculations for communication purposes.

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis called the proposal a “political fraud.” He compared Tsipras’ speech with a party briefing document and said a promise to support 80,000 students with €500 a month was being costed at €400 million a year. Dividing that figure by four, he said, would provide €125 a month rather than €500.

political fraud

· Pavlos MarinakisThe government spokesman describes what he says is the gap between Tsipras’ promises and the party’s cost estimates.

Marinakis said the same problem applied to teachers, with €75 a month appearing in the calculation instead of the promised €300. He also accused Tsipras’ party of excluding the cost of 50,000 homes and commitments to municipalities, describing the announcements as promises without substance.

The only certain thing is that some things will never change, including Mr. Tsipras’s innate tendency to conduct politics by trying to deceive citizens.

· Government sourcesGovernment sources respond to the opposition’s defense of its programme.

Tsipras’ party says the government is panicking and insists it was no secret that the programme would be introduced gradually between 2027 and 2030. It says it is ready to submit its plan to the Fiscal Council, although not before the November 1 date set for doing so.

The argument has widened to the proposed wealth register and whether it would include movable assets such as safe-deposit boxes and their contents. The government points to declared income as the only reliable basis for assessing the proposal. Tsipras’ party says officials took the declared taxable income of wealthy Greeks, €14.5 billion, applied 1% and triumphantly announced revenue of only €145 million. A party spokeswoman said the register should record bonds and deposits, distinguishing them from safe-deposit boxes, jewelry and individual objects.

What we are saying is that bonds and deposits should be recorded. A bond and a deposit are one thing, a safe-deposit box and a pin are another, and jewelry is another.

· Anna PapadopoulouThe party spokeswoman explains which assets she says should be included in the wealth register.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathimerini in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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