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Radicova: Economic Growth Only on Paper, Specific Moves Necessary
Saturday 05 June 2010 Zoom in | Print page
(SRo, June 5, Sobotne dialogy)
Slovakia's economic growth of 4.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010 as reported by the Statistics Office earlier this week has proven to be only on paper and not in real lives of people, opposition SDKU-DS election leader Iveta Radicova said on Slovak Radio weekly political discussion programme 'Sobotne dialogy' (Saturday Dialogues) on Saturday.
The y-o-y increase in Slovakia's economic performance is to be viewed in the light of the catastrophic situation brought about by the economic crisis, noted Radicova. In the same breath she pointed to the recently-reported increase in the unemployment rate to 15.1 percent, which is the highest figure in Slovakia for years.
"The growth is still only on paper. To recover the economy it's necessary to make a lot of specific decisions and changes, such as tackling the corruption, improving law enforcement, carrying out a judiciary reform, supporting entrepreneurial environment and directing investments into underdeveloped regions," said Radicova.
Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on the show responded that the economic growth in Slovakia - the highest in the EU in the first quarter - is a fact, which has been also attested to by international institutions. The base for the growth are large public investments, most notably motorway construction via PPP projects, claimed Fico.
Also, the Government has a specific and trustworthy plan to consolidate the public finances, with the deficit projected to fall this year in Slovakia as one of the few European countries, stated further Fico, adding that the Slovak Opposition is ignoring this.
Motorway construction is no magic cure-all, let alone if it is being carried out within overpriced projects as is the case in Slovakia. This has subsequently a very negative effect on the state budget, replied Radicova. "If the manner of handling the public finances doesn't change, the Greek fate will loom large over us," cautioned Radicova.
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