New finance minister has cushion to work with

The new government begins its term with a budgetary cushion of almost 3.7 billion euros, as the definitive January-May budget execution data showed on Monday a primary a surplus of €2.3 billion, instead of a primary deficit of almost €1.4 billion euros the budget had targeted.

Of course, in the meantime, last April's Stability Program revised the budget estimate, and instead of a primary surplus of 0.7% of GDP, it projected 1.1%, so the overshoot is smaller. Sources from the State General Accounting Office, in fact, estimated that the result is consistent with the Stability Program and noted that whether there will be an excess and fiscal space in the end or not will be seen after the summer, after the collection of tax revenues for income, and ascertain the course of tourism in this season.

The European Commission in its spring forecasts placed the primary surplus...