Political expediency

Greece’s leftist-led government has put a great deal of effort into avoiding the implementation of pension cuts.

However, according to data from the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat, the impact of Greece’s other social transfers (such as state unemployment and housing benefits) on poverty reduction is much smaller when compared with other members of the bloc.

After seven years of financial crisis, the authorities ought to have done more to make sure that these funds have a meaningful effect – especially given the fact that foreign lenders want to raise the figure.

However, it seems the government’s priorities are determined solely by political expediency.