Delo says next govt should sort out public finance

Ljubljana – The newspaper Delo says in Monday’s front-page commentary that whatever the next government will be, it should normalise public finance without hindering economic growth. The current government is meanwhile showing a dismissive attitude towards the Fiscal Council and taxpayers by failing to heed the former’s warnings about future budgets.

The next government is looking at public finance challenges, including budget deficit, high public debt and precarious economic situation.

The current government was right when it prevented bankruptcies and layoffs by providing state aid, expensive but necessary measures.

“On the other hand, as early as with the first Covid relief legislative package it started to distribute candies to various groups, and government profligacy has boomed into a more than a billion euros in bonuses for employees in the public sector.”

The Fiscal Council has been warning that some measures did not meet the basic purpose of mitigating the impact of the epidemic. When it comes to 2022 and 2023 budget drafts, the council cautions about expenditure for next year being over-estimated, “which enables a non-transparent spending in an election year”, and about the 2023 budget being unrealistic.

“The Fiscal Council has been shouting at the deaf, which shows the government’s disdainful attitude not only towards this institution, but also taxpayers. But, as the SDS might say: It’s ‘stupid’ to take care of public finance, particularly before the election.”

“Whatever the new government will be – perhaps even including the SDS, it should normalise public finance without stymieing economic growth,” says the commentary headlined Budget Mine.

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