Wasting time

The Ministry of Finance shows, as a rule, a certain self-restraint. It knows it is walking a tightrope. Such was the case in April, long before the European Parliament elections, when Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis rushed (as if he was afraid of something) to prevent future pressures on fiscal stability. In an explicit and categorical way, he said the ministry would exercise moderate fiscal management in 2025. The state budget, he said, can withstand handouts of up to 870 million euros in 2025 - versus of 2.5 billion euros this year.

Given these facts, the ministry caused negative comments recently when it suddenly "discovered" that there is actually an extra 350 million euros available for additional handouts until the end of the year. Surplus and deficit are mutually exclusive concepts. Perhaps, however, this recent discovery would have gone largely unnoticed if it had...