Greek PM set to announce handouts

Aiming to push the narrative that a new post-bailout era has indeed dawned for the country, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to announce handouts and tax cuts worth more than a billion euros in his keynote speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) on Saturday.

The measures, which will be financed by a budget surplus in 2019, include reducing value-added tax at cafes and restaurants to 13 percent, at a cost of 350 million euros, and slashing the highly unpopular ENFIA property tax by up to 30 percent, at a cost of 250 million euros.

Tsipras also plans to announce a reduction in social security contributions by self-employed professionals to 13 percent, at a cost of 150 million euros, as well as house rent subsidies.

The government's key objective, however, is to scrap pre-agreed pension cuts in January, even though the SYRIZA-led government has...