Greek government deputy prime minister Yiannis Dragasakis was quoted over the weekend as saying that retaining high primary budget surplus targets, as a percentage of GDP, is “socially impossible and economically ineffective”.
Dragasakis, a LSE-trained economist and veteran leftist politician who has kept a distinctly low profile in the current government, also left open the possibility of a government reshuffle.
He repeated his forecast that the Greek economy is on a “significant recovery course”, adding however that “this, by its itself, is not sufficient for a rapid reduction in unemployment and to cover massive and accumulated needs on the part of healthcare, social protection and the social state,” as he said.
As such, Dragasakis called for economic “accelerants” to be found and activated in order to boost Greek economic growth.
Asked what those “accelerants” are, he cited debt relief (as extended by creditors to Greece), attracting long-term foreign investments and stimulating public and private investment in the country.
The current Tsipras government last year signed a bailout memorandum whereby it commits to posting annual primary budget surpluses as a percentage of GDP, beginning this year with a modest 0.5-percent goal and graduating to an ambitious 3.5 percent of GDP in 2018.
